One
by Supa Supa Bad Truly Mad Moves
Summary: PART 3: Max has been alone for three years. Jewel is ready to release a virus that will reduce the world's population to 100. Max knows it's time to come out of hiding - but is the rest of the flock even alive? And if not, is the world worth saving?
1. Chapter 1

**One**

**Sequel to "MAX: The ICBG" and "In My Absence"**

**Yo. Well, here's the third installment of my supa supa bad truly mad Maximum Ride fanfiction. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 1**

This part of the story begins when I looked in the mirror. It was a routine part of my morning, and I had looked in the same mirror as recently as the previous night. But something was different.

The reflection I saw was the face of Maximum Ride—as my reflection had always been (except for that one time, but you know what I mean). But something was different. The Maximum Ride I saw now was a woman.

By all the knowledge I had of my lifetime, I was seventeen years old. So by the standards of most societies, I wasn't quite a woman yet. But all you had to do was look into my eyes. A lifetime of torture. Years of loss. Months of running. Two years of surrogate motherhood, followed by three of full-out, bona fide motherhood. With all that going on in my eyes, you'd have to be a thousand years old if you wanted to feel confident in calling me a girl.

I left my bedroom, enjoying the tropical scene out the window—still the morning routine so far. As was usually the case at this time of day, Albert was there cooking breakfast. Albert resembles a seagull in most ways, except that his eyes are those of a human and, oh yeah, he's seven feet tall.

"Morning, Al," I said.

"Good morning, Max," Albert said. He spoke in a deep bass voice and a Boston accent. Somehow, he could talk with a beak—but I had given up trying to figure out the biology of the ICBG mutants long ago.

"Ah… you know, I think it _really_ is a good morning," I said.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah… kind of had an epiphany, I guess," I said. "I looked in the mirror and I saw a woman."

Felicia lifted her head. "You've been a woman, in your own way, for a very long time," she said.

"Yeah," I said. "But this morning I really _felt_ like it, for the first time."

Felicia nodded and settled back to the ground. Like Albert, she had human eyes on an overlarge animal's body—in her case, a python. She was thick as a tree trunk and about eighty feet long when uncoiled. Although, she hadn't actually uncoiled for the entire time I'd been living with them. As a human, Felicia had been deaf—she still was, you could tell by the sound of her voice, but now her snake senses gave her something akin to hearing when she had her chin pressed to the ground.

Albert and Felicia were quote-unquote "dangerous geniuses" as defined by the government. They had spent their adult lives in a government facility where they had been made to design weaponry and technology. Though not allowed to share physical contact, they had fallen deeply in love. In 2001, the prison's oldest inmate, Pablo "The Big Guy" Rodriguez, had managed to turn himself into a mutant human/gecko hybrid and escape the facility with the aid of his robot, taking six others with him and putting them through the same experiment with an animal of their choice. Albert had picked the seagull, Felicia the python.

They called themselves the ICBG, the International Conglomerate of Bad Guys—a mere joke, as they were not an international conglomerate and they didn't consider themselves bad guys. All but one, the one bad apple in the bunch—The Big Guy's incredibly expensive robot, Jewel. Jewel had gone bad and had set off for world domination. At that time, Albert and Felicia had quit the organization to find themselves a paradise far, far away from anything in the world.

That same day, I had given birth to mine and Fang's daughter. I named her Airy as a tribute to my brother Ari. Later, after the entire student body and faculty of the Day and Night School had been viciously murdered by Jewel, I had decided that the world was too dangerous for my four-day-old daughter. I left Fang in charge, and tried to get to a place where no one would ever find me.

That had been three years ago.

I wondered, sometimes, if I had made a selfish choice. Fang, obviously, completed me in every possible way, but could he take care of the flock alone? I had no clue. I didn't know if he or Gazzy or Angel were still alive. Iggy and Nudge I knew for a fact were dead. I had seen their shattered bodies falling to the ground miles and miles below. I had avenged them—killed Mr. Chu.

That had been my second cold-blooded murder. My first had been Laura Kris, the least stable member of the ICBG. A giant, red-eyed frog, Laura had fired a warning shot across my belly, not realizing just how important a place that had been at the time.

But yeah, sometimes I wondered if I had made the right choice when I had gone into hiding, found Felicia and Albert; together, we'd all found the tiny, secret island out in the middle of the ocean. But then I saw Airy toddling along the living room carpet, and I reminded myself that any plan that ended up with Airy alive was a good plan.

Airy was a bit under three and a half feet tall. She had Fang's eyes set into my face, and wings that, though still a tad bit fluffy, were plainly raven-black like Fang's, with some of my brown speckles. Her hair was curly and dark brown.

Airy walked, still uncertain about the act, up to me and wrapped her arms around my leg. "Hi-hi, Mommy," she said.

"Good morning, Airy," I replied. "What did you have for breakfast?"

"Egg."

"Yeah? Great."

Albert looked at me. "Are you okay, Max?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. "Just thinking about the old days… well, let's get started with our day, shall we?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Albert had whipped up a giant, all-American breakfast for me. I gobbled down the bacon, eggs, and toast. I was still a terrible cook, because some things never change.

Airy danced around the room as a George Strait song came up on the radio. I'd have to teach her a thing or two about music pretty soon. You don't dance to George Strait. You just don't.

Felicia's head snapped up suddenly. "Did you feel that?" she demanded.

"What, love?" Albert said seriously.

"A tremor," Felicia whispered.

Albert and I exchanged glances. "There are tremors around here all the time," I said.

"This is different," Felicia insisted. "I… I think something has been detonated."

The radio crackled suddenly. "Prepare yourselves!" said a voice. "Look out, world, 'cause I'm coming!"

Airy stared at the radio, concerned, until her song came back on.

I looked at Albert in horror. I knew that voice.

"Jewel," I whispered. "Does he know where we are?"

"He can't," Albert said. "I think, perhaps, that this transmission has spread to every airwave on the planet."

Felicia cocked her head. She had been completely unaware of what happened. Albert wrote it down for her.

"He's powerful," Felicia said. "He's getting more powerful every day."

Airy continued to dance, unaware of the ominous exchange that had been going on.

"Albert, Felicia," I said. "How long have I been here?"

"Not quite three years," Albert said.

"And we've loved having you," Felicia added. "You and Airy have greatly improved the desert-island experience for us."

I looked out the window. "I think the tremor and Jewel's message may have had something in common," I said.

Albert sighed. "I never told you this, Max, but Felicia and I have remained in touch with Danny for a long time. Jewel has plans to release the Spider Virus, after he's destroyed most man-made things on Earth."

"What's the Spider Virus?" I asked.

"It will wipe out the entire human race, except for one hundred select people who Jewel has had immunized."

"Oh, God," I whispered.

"All other life on Earth will survive," Albert explained. "It only attacks humans, so Felicia and I will be unaffected. But if the virus is unleashed… you have enough human DNA that it will take you out, painfully."

I inhaled sharply. "And Airy?" I asked.

"Same as you," Albert said.

I stared out the window, at the ocean… at the world. "I should never have come here," I said. "How could I have been so irresponsible? I need to be out there, protecting the planet."

"Are you going to leave?" Felicia asked.

"I am," I said. "I have to. Can you two come with me?"

Albert shook his head. "The world is not a place we want to be. We're staying on our island, forever."

"We'll take care of Airy," Felicia said.

"No," I said. "I'm taking her. Her daddy deserves to meet her."

"Max," Albert said. "It's been three years. Three years of secret global war. You don't know that Fang is alive."

"If he's not, it's my fault," I said. "I left him. But I'm taking Airy with me, regardless. If she can't meet her daddy, then at the very least, she ought to know what her mommy really does for a living."

Albert smiled. "Well, we'd never consider trying to stop you, Max."

"Thank you," I said. I hugged both of them together. "I'll never forget the two of you," I murmured. "Thank you for keeping my baby safe for three years. If there's anything you want from me before I go…"

"Never," Albert said. "We would never consider asking anything of you."

"Okay," I said. "Well, I'm gonna go pack up some stuff. Only what I can carry." I began to march off to my room, then I turned back to them. "Listen," I said. "I… I want you to come back to the world someday. I promise that I'll make it a place worth visiting."

Felicia laughed. "We won't hold you to that, but… don't hold back. If not for us, do it for every other living thing."

"Of course," I said. "Get Airy ready."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

I packed up a simple knapsack. I wouldn't be needing anything where I was going… wherever that may have been. But I had to get back. I didn't know what condition the world was in. I didn't know if anyone I loved was still alive. I didn't even know if I could breathe the air more than two miles away from the island (although it was pretty likely that I could; I didn't think the world had changed _that_ much).

But I absolutely had to save the world. That was my destiny or some shit.

I strapped Airy to my chest and turned one final time to Felicia and Albert.

"Goodbye, you guys," I said. "I… I love you."

They smiled. They had been trying to get that phrase out of me for three years; I thought it would be a nice parting gift. It wasn't a phrase I gave out lightly, as they knew.

"Come on, Airy," I said. "Let's go."

"Go?" she said.

"That's right," I said.

I flapped my wings, rising into the air. I flew a circuit around the island a few times, then, arbitrarily, started flying east.

"Where will we go?" Airy asked.

"We're going to find your daddy," I replied.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The problem with just returning to real life just like that was… well, I had no clue where I was going.

_That's why we have friends._

I inhaled sharply, and Airy looked at me quizzically. I hadn't heard the Voice for three years; last time it had spoken, it had been telling me that keeping Airy safe was the correct choice. That had also been the last time I saw the flock… and I couldn't help but connect the two. Somehow I was filled with hope that the return of the Voice meant I would be seeing the people I loved very, very soon.

_Friends are there to guide you, to show you the right way when all you see is blackness._

_I thought that's what head-voices are for,_ I shot back.

_Perhaps,_ the Voice said, giving one of its real-or-perceived chuckles. _Have I been helpful to you, Max?_

I shrugged internally. _Yeah. Yeah, you have,_ I grudgingly admitted.

_Have I been a good friend?_

_I don't think I ever thought to call you that, no._

_Good,_ the Voice said. _You have made other friends. Call to your friend, Max, and heed the advice of your friend well… for this is the last time you will ever hear me._

I nearly stumbled—probably the first time anyone's ever stumbled while flying. _Are you for real?_ I thought.

No answer. As usual, the Voice had left without giving me nearly enough information. But apparently, this time it had left permanently.

I felt an odd sort of lightness inside of my head, an emptiness. It was insanely uncomfortable. I didn't know if I wanted the Voice gone… but whether I wanted it or not, it was gone. So, I started thinking about its final piece of wisdom.

Who are my friends? The flock? I can't just call to them and expect things to go just right.

But then I realized… the flock aren't my friends. The flock are my family. Who are my _friends_?

I stopped in my directionless flight and hovered in place for a moment. "Keegan," I whispered. My best friend. My first friend. An inspiring little girl who had changed my life, not in every way that she was capable of, but in a way that was much more special and meaningful.

"Keegan!" I said. This time, I yelled it.

There she was. She was standing on thin air, looking exactly as I remembered. Long black hair, thick glasses. She was older now, the same age as I was estimated to be, but she looked like the Keegan I had always known.

She smiled brightly. "Max," she said. "I knew you'd come back. I've missed you." She pulled me into a hug, then looked down at the beautiful creature strapped to my chest. "Airy," she whispered. "Hello, baby bird. Oh, you carry every blessing there is, child of Maximum Ride."

I grinned. Keegan always spoke in a very pretty manner, somewhat archaic—but she had to talk that way if she wanted to convey the fact that she was infinitely wise, forever innocent, and all-powerful. Not that she would describe herself that way, or attempt to emphasize it.

"What's shaking, Keegan?" I asked.

"It's been a dark three years without you, Max," she said. "The world is—"

"I meant for _you_, Keegan," I said.

"Oh," she said. "Well, I'm still in love with Niles. Obviously. Eternal love and all that. And, um, I… I found out where I came from."

"Really?" I said. "Oh, that's fantastic, buddy. Where did you come from?"

"Same place as you," she said. "The School in Death Valley."

"Really?" I said again, horrified.

"Yeah," she said. "I was kidnapped when I was three. At the time, they were working on the Enhanced Children. Do you remember those experiments?"

I leveled a stare at her. "Keegan? I remember everything there is to remember about that hellish place. Don't try to help me remember it _better_."

"Sorry," she muttered. "Anyway, the Enhanced Children were made to have superhuman brains, brains that could solve any problem they were confronted with, even as babies. What they didn't know was that, by sheer chance, I was _born_ with a brain that could rival any of the Enhanced Children. When they enhanced _me_, they got more than they bargained for."

"A goddess," I said, nodding.

"I'm not a goddess," she said. "I'm just omnipotent."

"My, my, what a distinction," I said sarcastically.

"Max, _you_ are the goddess here," Keegan said, gripping my shoulder. "Never forget that."

"I won't," I said. "So, buddy… help a goddess out?"

She giggled. "What can I do for you?"

"Lead me to Fang."

"To Fang?"

"Yeah. Lead me to Fang. Or his grave site, or the last place he was seen, or whatever. Don't tell me where you're taking me. Just take me there."

"You… don't want me to tell you what's become of Fang?"

"I'd rather see for myself," I said.

"Okay," Keegan said.

Instantly, directions were planted in my mind. A perfect circle of trees in the Italian countryside.

"Thank you," I said. "You done good, Keegs."

Keegan's eyes welled up with tears. "Thank you, Max. I love you."

I hugged her. "You know something? I love you too, buddy."

"Best friends?" she said.

"Always," I replied. "See you around?"

"We can only pray," she said.

Keegan vanished. I changed course.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Mommy, can I fly?" Airy asked.

"Yes," I said. "Someday, you're going to be able to fly, because you're a very special little girl."

"I wanna fly now."

She spread her wings, breaking free of the wrapping I was using to keep her on my chest. Her wingspan was seven feet, and, I noticed, sometime during the past two hours that I had been flying she had completely shed all of her down.

"No!" I said frantically. I clamped her wings shut. It hurt her, but she didn't cry; she rarely did. What else could you expect from a daughter of mine? "I… I'm sorry. I just don't want you to have your first flight, not yet. I want your daddy there to see it."

"My daddy?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Who _is_ my daddy?" she asked.

I thought about that. Who _was_ Fang? That was a pretty complex question. But Airy could handle the answer. For her entire life, I never felt like I had to simplify anything for her. She didn't speak very often or very well, but sometimes when I spoke to her it was like she was my equal.

"Well, his name is Fang," I said. "He made it up, just like I made up my name. He has black hair, and black eyes, and black wings, and he always wears black clothes. I've been in love with him for my entire life… and I wish I had _known_ it for my entire life. It took so long to realize that when he kissed me, I was alive. When I wasn't loving him, I may as well have been dead, a useless lump. We were two people, but we had one soul. If I had known that sooner, there were a lot of things that could have been avoided."

Airy looked at me with her cold black eyes—Fang's eyes really looked out-of-place on that quizzical, innocent expression.

"I don't know," I muttered. "I'm just… I'm just super-grateful to have grown up a mutant freak in a hellish laboratory. Because if I hadn't, I would have a different soul, and a different other half. And that would be awful, to imagine a life without Fang constantly by my side. For every single moment of every step of my life, he was there."

"You loved him."

"Yeah. I still do."

"Why did you leave him?" Airy asked.

I ogled her. Where had she been hiding _that_ question? And here I thought she was just a three-year-old kid who happened to have been born to a couple of punk teenagers with wings and hollow bones and, for no apparent reason, gills. My mistake! She was quite a bit more than that.

"To protect you, Airy," I said. "I didn't want you to get hurt. But I promised your daddy I'd come back when things were safe. And… well, they're not safe yet, but they will be."

Suddenly I felt a noose tighten around my ankle. "What the frickety-frack?" I muttered. I twisted in the air, hoping to get rid of it before any major consequences occurred, but somebody was already reeling me in.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I woke up in a cage, where three dirt-bags in white armor were staring at me.

"Look at that, you guys," one of them said. "She's awake."

My first impulse was to check my chest. Airy was still strapped there, thank God. She was awake and alert, staring at the three guys with intimidating hatred. That's my girl.

A door in the back of the room opened. Jewel stepped in, his ruby-studded face, giant diamond eyes, and marble spider mouthparts somehow conveying smugness. He was flanked by Keegan and Dr. Hot-Stuff.

"Oh my God," Jewel said mockingly, pulling a cigar from his mandibles. "How's it going, Max?"

"Pretty good, you know?" I said. "Pretty good."

"And there's little Airy," Jewel said, sidling up to the bars of our cage. "I always wanted to meet you. Look how gorgeous. That's a special baby. Too bad she won't live to see her fourth birthday."

Airy shoved Jewel's face. "Go away, Drool," she said.

Jewel seemed momentarily taken aback. One of my guards laughed, and Jewel zapped him with an electrical charge from his fingers. His hair standing on end, the guy muttered, "Sorry, Master."

"So, whatcha gonna do now, Jewel?" I said. "I've heard about your little cleansing exercise."

"Yeah," Jewel said. "I'd like to kill you now, but I think my more sadistic tendencies are going to inspire me to wait until I unleash the virus. I'd like you and Airy to be the virus's first victims. It's quick but painful. I spent three years perfecting it after your flock destroyed the first batch."

"Cool," I said.

Jewel sighed. "I like you, Max, but from a business standpoint, I can't let you live. Your bird blood has no place in a world of one hundred people."

I looked around at the guards. They didn't seem particularly fazed. Interesting.

"I'll come talk to you later," Jewel said. "I have stuff to blow up. You know how it goes."

Jewel left, closely followed by Brigid. Keegan paused to look at me, and I realized that I was holding a scrap of paper. I read it.

_Your guards are total dirt-bags. Any tactic should get you by them._

As soon as I was finished reading, the note vanished. I shot Keegan a thumbs-up. She smiled before leaving.

"So," I said. "Who are you guys?"

"My name's Grease," said the largest of the three. It was easy to see why they called him that; his hair could keep a car running smoothly for three years. "This is my uncle Mud, and my little brother Gum." Mud had a gray buzz-cut and a thick mustache; Gum was gangly with an unfortunate afro.

"Family of evil henchmen, huh?" I said. "Cool. So, you guys got immunized, did you?"

"From what?" Grease asked.

"The Spider Virus. The one that's gonna wipe out the whole human race."

"Oh, that. No, we didn't."

"Right," I said. "You know that means you're gonna die, right? Jewel's only letting one hundred people live."

"So?" Grease said.

"So, I think it would be in your best interest to help me defeat Jewel, don'tcha think? 'Cause if he wins, you're gonna die."

Grease shrugged. "He pays us good," he said. "Six hundred dollars an hour."

I stared blankly. "And, what exactly are you gonna do with that pay when you and the rest of the human race is dead?"

The three of them stared back. From the way they were looking at me, you'd think I'd just translated Waltzing Matilda into Hindi.

"Let me go, and you get to keep the pay," I said.

"Nuh-uh," Grease said. "We'd only let you go for ten times what Jewel is paying us."

"How about I pay you with your lives?" I snarled. "That's a better deal than Jewel is giving you."

"No, it's gotta be the money," Grease said.

"Okay," I said. "You know how I'm part bird? It's like I've got the GPS. It can tell me where Jewel keeps his money. I can track down _all_ of it for you. You three can split Jewel's entire fortune."

Grease smiled. "Now you're talking English, babe. Also, if you could hold up a couple of banks for us, that'd be appreciated."

"Sure," I said. "Just open the door."

Grease whipped out a key and unlocked the cage.

"Are they dumb?" Airy asked.

"Yes, they most certainly are," I said.

I stepped out and walked across the room to the door… then I turned around.

"You know what?" I said. "I was planning to just escape, but I think I'll kill you guys first."

I drop-kicked all three of them simultaneously.

"Hey, wait a second," Grease said frantically. "Look, we didn't want to eat the children or kick the old people, all right? It's just a job! It's a job, all right? We work for our honest pay!"

"If you three died right now, the human race would be richer morally than it's ever been before," I said. "Give me a good reason to let you live. You've got thirty seconds."

"I'll quit!" Grease squeaked. "I'll quit, okay? I won't work for Jewel anymore! Please, please, please, just let me go, and I won't kill people anymore. At least not for a job. Maybe I'll just make it a hobby. That's okay, I think. Right?"

I stood up. Truthfully, I was too tired to enforce justice on these guys. "Just get out of my sight," I said. "Run away and never return, or whatever it is that you fleabags do."

Grease ran off. "And you two?" I demanded of Gum and Mud.

They followed their kinsman.

"You shoulda killed them," Airy said.

"Yeah, but I don't really have the energy right now," I said. "Come on, sweetie. We're busting out of here."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

My rage led the way as I blasted my way through Jewel's compound.

Well, not exactly. There were very few people around. Apparently Jewel had already gotten rid of most of his henchmen. Those who remained were sufficiently intimidated by my expression.

It wasn't until I ran into Brigid that I started getting fired against. Brigid shot her little laser weapon at me. It almost nicked Airy's chest.

Well, as you know, the _sight_ of Brigid was usually enough to get me into combat mode, so having her shoot at me kind of drove me over the edge. I went for her throat.

"Nobody shoots at my baby," I said. "I think you ought to know that by now, Dr. Dwyer."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I truly am sorry. It was… it was a reflex. I don't like looking at Airy."

I looked around. The three of us were alone in this stretch of the hallway. I let go of her. "Would you care to explain that?" I said.

"It's… it's a pretty silly, childish thing," Brigid murmured. "And I'm sorry. It's just… Airy is, like, living proof that Fang made love to you. And I don't like that. _I_ should have been his first all those years ago."

I stared. "You're a sick bitch," I said. "I'm going now. Good luck not surviving."

"I _am_ surviving, Max," Brigid said. "I'm one of the hundred. And I'm sorry; it's just… ugh! I want Fang so much! And don't think he hasn't used that against me time and time again in this war."

I turned back to her. "Sorry?" I said.

"Every time I see him, his eyes empty, not full of… _you_… the way they always used to be, I think maybe I have a chance with him," she muttered. "He always tricks me. I never stop falling for his charm and his pure sex appeal. He's gotten more information out of _me_ in the past three years… you know, I hope you find him. Maybe then I'll stop falling for his tricks, maybe then I'll finally be able to just take the initiative and fucking shoot him already like I'm supposed to!"

"You're a sad creature," I said. I turned to go, for real this time.

"No one has heard from Fang in about four months," she called after me. "Rumor has it he's dead."

I ignored her.

It was a few minutes later that I fell into a trapdoor. Kind of weird, huh? I ended up in a steel room. The exit was accessible if I was given enough time to fly.

But staring into the eyes of Jewel kind of takes the will to be a smart-ass away.

"You're crafty, Max," Jewel said. "Fang was crafty too."

"He still is crafty," I said confidently.

"No. He _was_. Until I got to him."

I narrowed my eyes. "Where is he?"

"Um, he's there, there, there, there, and there," Jewel replied, pointing to five random spots in the room. "Took forever for the janitors to scrape him up. If you go in close, you may still be able to smell him."

"You're bluffing," I said. "You have no clue where Fang is. He's alive."

"Maybe," Jewel said. "It doesn't matter. If you got past Grease, my best agent, I think that, if I want to see you die, I'd best do it now. And I _do_. I do want to see you die, and if you escape before I unleash the virus I'll probably never catch you again."

Jewel's blade-arms rushed for me. He could move those marble digits at the speed of sound.

I could move faster.

I dodged the oncoming blades, and was immediately covered by a giant spider web. I was moving too fast for it to completely envelop me, though, and I remained mobile enough to kick Jewel in the chest. His studded body offered better armor than anything else in the world, but I managed to knock him down. He kicked me; taking rubies to the head is pretty rough, and I felt off balance for a second. He electrocuted me, and I lost my sense of sight for a moment. Blindly, I grabbed something and pulled hard. When I could finally see again, I realized that in my blind rage I had ripped off one of Jewel's normal arms.

Jewel shot a flamethrower from his mouth, but I dodged, over and over and over. Finally I got myself through the tight exit on the ceiling and shut it behind me. I heard Jewel pounding on the door a second later, but I was clearing out.

I had fought Jewel. I hadn't defeated him, per se, but I had fought him and gotten out of it. All with a three-year-old strapped to my chest.

"Wow," I said. "That was quite a buzz! I just survived hand-to-hand combat with Jewel. If I could do that, that probably means I could do anything!"

"Can you find Daddy?" Airy asked.

"Yeah," I said. "For sure, this means I can find your daddy. And I'm gonna."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

I was at the grove of trees, in Italy, that Keegan had planted in my mind. There was no sign of any sort of secret entrance or anything like that.

Maybe Keegan had led me to Fang's gravesite.

No. No, I'd never believe that. Fang did not die. He would never die without me. He always knew that we would die together, and that if he died before I did, I'd kill him.

That's messed up, I know. But I kept inspecting the place. Soon, I saw something interesting; a pair of human eyes poking up out of the grass.

"Hi, Ray," I said.

The black-and-white spotted stingray heaved his body out from underneath the fake grass. "How'd you do that?" he asked.

"Nothing gets by me," I said. "I recommend more camouflage around the eyeball area."

"Duly noted," he said. He looked me over. "Nice job growing up, Max! You've become quite the babe."

"Thanks," I said. "You look pretty good yourself."

That was just politeness. Ray actually looked exactly the same as last time I'd seen him, except that his wingspan had increased by ten feet. Also, last time I'd seen him he'd been attacking Fang, so him being on my side now was an improvement also.

"Is the flock around?" I asked.

"Right this way," he said.

He led me along a meadow. I had always thought that his method of locomotion was quite pretty; he'd undulate across the ground, much like a real ray would move through the water. On the other side of the meadow, we met with his twin brother Ram. Ram was a bipedal mountain goat. He had grown about five feet in the past three years. An eleven-foot-tall goat.

That's the interesting thing about the ICBG. They're not only mutants; they're _giant_ mutants.

"Max!" Ram said. "Oh, wow, you're back. Jewel doesn't stand a chance now. Neither do the Survivors."

"The who?" I asked.

"The Survivors," Ram said. "Mr. Chu's people. They're still around."

"Oh, yeah," I realized. "Holy crap, I forgot about them. But, um… is the flock around?"

Ram pointed upwards, and I followed the point. There were two figures, flying in a circle.

"Gazzy! Angel!" I called. I launched myself up, snagging Gazzy clear out of the air and hugging him.

"Max!" he said. "You're okay!"

"I'm very okay," I said.

"And Airy," Angel said with wonder. She peered over my shoulder at the baby. "Hello, Airy. I'm your Auntie Angel."

"Okay, you've scared her enough for today," I said, pulling away from Angel.

"I was only talking to her," Angel protested.

"Yeah," I said. "Scary."

Angel's expression suddenly became vacant. I recognized that look; she was looking into the future.

"Oh, wow," she said. "Yes… now there are six of us again. I can see… for the first time in three years, I can truly see. Everything's gonna turn out right."

I frowned. "Six of us? But Angel…"

"Well, seven," Angel corrected, smiling at Airy again. "With the whole flock reunited, that's seven."

"Angel, the flock will never be reunited," I said. "Iggy and Nudge are…"

My words were cut off as I looked down to the ground. A seven-foot-tall blonde dude was talking to Ray and Ram. I dropped to the ground as fast as I could; Angel and Gazzy followed me slowly. "Iggy?" I demanded.

"Hi, Max," he said with a smile. "How are you?"

"How do you think I am, you jackass?" I snapped, punching him in the face. We shared a laugh at that violent moment. "It's one thing seeing Gazzy and Angel… I never knew what happened to them. But I've spent the last three years _certain_ that you were dead! But you're not… you're not…" I hugged him. "Is… is Nudge…?"

"Nudge is alive too," Iggy said.

"Oh, that's great…" I felt myself being pulled away from Iggy and into a bone-crushing hug. That was Nudge all right.

"You're back, you're back, you're back," Nudge said happily.

"Let me go so I can look at you," I choked out.

She did, holding me at arm's length. "Wow," I said. "Nudge, you're… _beautiful_." She truly was. I wondered how long that had been going on.

"Thank you!" she said.

I noticed something else. I had grown quite a bit in the past few years; I was now six-two.

Fourteen-year-old Nudge was taller.

"Oh my God," I said. "I'm the tiny one, aren't I?"

"Oh, that's okay," Nudge said. "All the best generals in history have been tiny."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I demanded.

"I dunno," she said. "But you're back! I'm so happy. Group hug, everybody!"

My four little shining stars wrapped around me and Airy. "I love you guys so much," I whispered.

"Don't give us _all_ of your love," Angel said. "You still haven't seen Fang."

The four of them parted. There, on the other side of the meadow, was the missing fifty percent of _me_.

I had imagined our reunion a couple times. I had imagined the two of us running, leaping atop each other and, like starving people finding an all-you-can-eat buffet, devouring one another's faces.

That's not how it went at all. We walked toward each other very, very slowly. And when we met, we exchanged the most tender of kisses.

"Oh, Fang," I sighed.

"Hey, babe," he replied.

Airy twisted to get a better look at him. "Daddy?" she said.

Fang's eyes snapped to her, and he gasped. I mean, he GASPED. "Oh… my… God…" he rasped.

Airy dropped herself off of my chest and gave Fang a hug. "Hi, Daddy," she said.

"I… I… Hi, Airy. It's… it's good to see you."

Not for the first time, Fang seemed at a loss for words. But _for_ the first time, it seemed that was causing him a problem.

"Mommy, can I fly now?" Airy asked.

I nodded. Airy leaped into the air and started flying around. In seconds, she was performing maneuvers that had taken the six of us months to perfect. It was difficult taking my eyes off of her, but I did it for the only person who could draw my eyes in better—Fang.

He was watching her carefully, but he spoke to me. "Max?" he said.

"Yeah?"

"Never… never take her away from me again," he said, his voice cracking.

"I won't," I said, bursting into tears abruptly.

He turned to me and gave me a hug. "And I don't want you to take _you_ away from me either," he said.

"Never," I said. "Never again, babe."

We held each other for what I was later told was 42 minutes. I felt like that wasn't long enough. After the 42 minutes, Airy felt the need to intrude on the hug, as did the other four punks.

"It's been a miserable three years," Nudge said. "You wouldn't believe how much Fang has missed you."

"Can't be any more or less than I've missed him," I said.

"I believe that," Iggy said. "Let me tell you something—Tonight? You two are _so_ gonna get laid."

I liked the sound of that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

I woke up with Fang, my naked chest brushing gently against his.

"Morning, perfect," I whispered.

"Hey, Max," he replied, kissing me tenderly.

"Wow," I said, rubbing my hand over his stomach. "You've filled out. I thought you had awesome abs three years ago. Do you work out?"

"Eh, no," he said. "Saving the world is hard work, so I don't really _need_ to work out."

"No kidding," I said. "Ah, man, it's good to be home."

"It's good to have you home," he muttered. "Is it just me, or was last night the best sex ever?"

"Oh, yeah, baby," I said. "Maybe it was just all the time apart, but… yeah. You swept my chimney like never before."

He ran his fingers through my hair. "I, um… wanted to let you know that I've been faithful," he said. "I've never looked at another girl. I've just been waiting for you to come back."

"Thanks," I said. "Well, Albert never took a shine to me, so I guess I've been faithful too. Brigid told me about the tricks you've been pulling on her, by the way."

"Yeah, she passes us information thinking that in return I'll love her," he said. "I think she's gone insane, the poor woman."

"Oh," I said. "Well, that'll be enough of that. Do me again."

"Hey, now, Max, Brigid deserves some compassion," he said.

"Yeah, fine," I said. "But she shot at Airy."

"She's out of her mind, okay?" he said. "If we have to kill her to protect ourselves, that's a tragedy. But I'm yours, never forget that. God, I can't believe that you and I made Airy. She's so beautiful and smart, Max."

"Yeah, she is," I agreed. "So… what do we do? How do we pull through all this Jewel stuff? And the Survivors?"

"Well, I don't know," he admitted.

"Let me tell you, I think if we could harness your lovemaking into an energy source, we'd have world peace."

"That's nice of you," he said.

"Love me some more, Fang," I said wistfully.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Good morning, Max," Nudge said.

"Hey, Nudge," I said. I did a double-take on her. "My God, you're so gorgeous. When did that happen?"

She giggled. "I don't know. It's so good that you're back! I've got somebody to talk to about sex now."

"Oh, right, you and Iggy," I said. "How's that going?"

"Fantastic," she said. "Come on! Before anybody else wakes up. Let's exchange some tips and strategies."

"I don't know if we can do that," I said. "I mean, every guy is different."

We looked at each other, then laughed aloud, as if to say _yeah right_.

"Seriously," Nudge said. "I want to make Iggy happy, you know. What are some moves you have?"

"Well, sometimes we'll be kissing, and then I'll kind of lick the tip of his nose," I said. "He likes that. I can always tell when I'm doing something right, because his wing starts stretching out and quivering. And… I don't know. Fang's very visual. I think you could offer more tips than me."

"Ooh, I got one," she said. "Toes."

"Toes?"

"Toes. Kissing is nice, sex is nice, but there's nothing like his clean mouth going over my clean feet…"

She shuddered pleasantly. That _did_ sound wonderful.

"And he's cool with that?" I asked.

"My feet have to be really, really clean, but yeah, he's got no problems with toes."

"That is cool," I said. "I'll try that. So, how long have you and Iggy been… active?"

"Oh, since the day you left, pretty much," she said. "I, um… I discovered that when I poke his ribs, he makes a peeping noise, like a baby. It was the cutest thing! I kept doing it, and eventually I started feeling super-hot. So, I stripped him naked and… well, he was completely violated. But after that, he… participated, pretty much."

"Uh-huh," I said. "Peeping noise, huh? That's funny, 'cause Fang peeps when he—"

I fell silent as Fang entered the room. "Don't mind me," he said. "Keep exposing your men's darkest secrets."

"I think it's cute, babe," I said.

"I don't do what I do to be _cute_," he said, passing through the conference room.

"Don't hide from the truth, Fang," I called after him. "And you know the truth: When you're taking me roughly in a moonlit meadow, pulling out my hair and feathers by the roots as my back arches and my head scrapes against the ground, that's _cute_."

He gave me the finger as he departed.

"Where is he going?" I asked.

"The arena," Nudge replied. "It's a lot of fun! We spar all the time. Keeps us in shape."

"Sparring?" I said. "Hmm… whenever I spar with Fang, we always end up having sex. I don't think an arena would be all that convenient."

Nudge laughed. "You two are freaky. Is it true you did it in the tree outside the dormitories?"

"Ah, yeah, tree sex. That's the best. What kind of trees are around here?"

Nudge laughed again. "You are so crazy."

"What, it's a crime to like sex?"

"Of course not," Nudge said. "That's what drives every species on the planet; we wanna eat all the time and we wanna have sex all the time. I'm just saying, you do both in a very strange way."

"I _eat_ in a strange way? I eat the same as the rest of you."

"Okay, fine," she said. "You're very good at eating. And sex."

"I _am_ good at sex."

"Well, yeah, you have the Voice. I bet it's always going, 'oh, twist your hips this way'. It's not good sex if you're getting tips. That's just cheating."

I laughed, then I sighed. "The Voice never said a thing about sex. It sorta-kinda respected my privacy. And… I think it's gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Nudge said.

"It told me that I would never hear it again," I said. "It told me I should get advice from my friends now."

"Hey, that's cool," Nudge said. "We can help you, Max."

"I think it meant Keegan," I said.

Our humorous discussion had just taken a dramatic and solemn turn. That can be credited to the fantastic writer of this fanfic.

"Oh, yeah, Keegan's a good friend," Nudge said. "But I'm still your best sister, right?"

"Of course," I said. "But, yeah, I think Keegan is important. She's always saying that her power isn't meant to be used… but if she was made by the same people as us, then maybe she's just as important as we are."

"Maybe," Nudge said. "But I thought we were talking about sex and eating."

"That's true. I prefer sex."

"I'm more partial to eating, myself," she said.

Iggy passed through. "Oh, that's great to hear," he said.

"Everyone around here is partial to eating," Nudge said. "That's because you're the one who does the cooking, sweetheart.

"So, wait, I go to all the effort in the world to please you and be the best lover in the friggin' world and you prefer my cooking. That's wonderful."

"Well, honestly," Nudge said, "your food is sexier than your moves."

"Great."

"No, no, Iggy, the moves are _very_ sexy. But the lobster is sexier."

**This chapter took forever to write. That usually happens every time I do a sex chapter. That's probably because I know nothing about sex. But did you see me hyping myself up there? Pretty smooth, huh?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Music played throughout the compound. Jewel looked upon Keegan and Niles, swaying to the gentle rhythm. The compound had more or less become a party area ever since the hundred had been recruited.

"How do they do that?" Jewel wondered aloud. "How do two people fall in love? I'd sacrifice _anything_ to get the answer to that. Hey, Lao Hu! Could I have this dance?"

Lao Hu, Jewel's number three colonel—ranked below only Brigid and Keegan—looked surprised. "Why me, Master?" she asked.

Jewel shrugged. "You look lonely. I know I'm lonely. Let's dance." He held out a hand. Lao Hu took it, uneasily.

"Have you ever been in love, Lao Hu?" he asked.

"Once," Lao Hu said. "I was nine."

"You were nine?"

"That counts."

"But how can—?"

"It counts!" Lao Hu snapped. "I was nine, and there was a boy at my school… he was amazing. We'd kiss under the bleachers. Maybe I don't know exactly what love is _now_, but for one brief moment in my childhood I really felt it."

"Huh," Jewel said. "Kind of weird. I was just thinking about Keegan and Niles. Sometimes it's nice to watch them, sometimes they just tick me off."

"I understand," Lao Hu said. "I've often seen people and been happy, but at the same time been jealous."

"Right," Jewel muttered. "How does that HAPPEN? I know I'm _capable_ of love. I know I love Keegan, and the other top-ranking people, I know I feel a very powerful sense of community. But… something like this, something like what Keegan has with Niles… I feel like it's beyond my comprehension. God, maybe I am just a machine."

"Well, there are many kinds of love, Master," Lao Hu said. "It is always a satisfying emotion, regardless."

"I'm not satisfied," Jewel said bluntly. "I mean, it's the tale as old as time, the romance. Where does a person find that?"

"Well, Master, I think that you have a beautiful soul," Lao Hu said. "There must be someone here who can agree with me, and who will recognize its fit with their own. Sometimes, all it takes is a simple phrase. What you said earlier, I'm lonely, you're lonely. That, I think, was proof that you can love."

"You think so?" Jewel said.

"Absolutely, Jewel," Lao Hu said. "I've always seen you as something of a visionary, a savior. And now I see that you have more potential than even that."

Jewel stared hard at Lao Hu. "Hmm… that's… that's interesting. I wonder…"

"What?" Lao Hu said nervously.

Jewel leaned in to Lao Hu as slowly and carefully as he could, until his mandibles were almost digging into her face. Lao Hu understood, and holding his face, tentatively kissed him.

"Strange," Jewel said.

"Jewel, I could tell you I love you, but I think you want to discover that for yourself… if I'm not mistaken. Right?" Lao Hu looked uneasy.

"Why?" Jewel said bluntly. "I'm a sadistic, murderous egomaniac. I'm planning on wiping out the entire human race. I'm not even human. I'm not even _living_. I see why you would _serve_ me, but why would you _love_ me, Lao Hu?"

"Well, there's so much more to you," Lao Hu insisted. "As I said… there is a soul within those moving parts. I'm not sure what a soul is, but I have one and you have one. And tonight they connected."

Jewel stared at Lao Hu. He stared and stared and stared. He even held her up over his head, as if thinking he could see their connection more clearly in the light. "I don't see it," he said finally. "What are you talking about?"

"It's not something that can be seen," Lao Hu said. "You just know."

"Stop that!" Jewel snapped. "Stop talking nonsense! All right? Tell me where I can find my soul, where a person gets romantic love. Tell me now, Lao Hu!" He clasped his hands around her forearms and she shrieked.

"Master," she said quietly. "Master, you've broken my arms."

"Oh!" Jewel said. Alarmed, he stepped back. "I… I didn't see… I can get that healed for you, I'll take you to the bio-accelerator."

"I'll go to the accelerator myself," Lao Hu said. "I think you had it right the first time around, Master. You _are_ a machine."

"Wait!" Jewel said. "Lao Hu, you basically told me that you love me. I'm only looking for a tangible explanation."

Lao Hu ignored him and left the room. Jewel felt a hand on his shoulder and turned. It was Keegan.

"There is nothing tangible to explain, Jewel," she said.

"But if I can't see it…" Jewel muttered. "Then maybe it _is_ beyond me. Maybe I don't have a soul."

"Lao Hu thought that you do," Keegan said. "Don't make her regret those words. Go after her. What you decided tonight may change your life forever, Master."

Jewel nodded and ran after Lao Hu.

"You think Jewel is capable of romantic love?" Niles asked.

"Yes," Keegan said. "But it doesn't matter. It's not going to change anything."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

I tucked Airy in. "Good night," I said quietly.

"Night-night," she said.

"I love you so much," I said.

"I love _you_ so much," she replied.

I ruffled her hair. I had said good night uncountable times already, but I couldn't look away from her. Finally, I managed to return to my room.

This is Fang, by the way. We're still tag-teaming this thing.

I entered the room that was now shared by Max. Over the course of three years, I had managed to decorate it in a way that would be favorable to Max—always hoping she would return.

"Did she have trouble getting to sleep?" Max said, concerned.

"Yeah, 'cause I kept talking to her," I said. "She's phenomenal, Max. You… you did pretty good all by yourself. You did terrific."

I took off my clothes, got out my laptop, and got into bed.

"You still have the blog?" she said.

"Yeah," I said.

"Do you have to do that _now_?" she said. "We're in bed, Fang."

"I've got a lot of people depending on me for news, Max," I said. "I get five million visitors every day. I haven't posted since you and Airy got back. I wanna tell them that I've got my best girls back. I'm gonna post a picture of Airy."

"Do that in the morning," she said.

"You can have your way with me after I've posted the blog, babe. I need time to prepare."

"Fang? I don't think you comprehend just how much I want you."

"I do, I do. Trust me, I desperately want to ramone you, but my audience needs me."

Max pressed her body against mine and read over my shoulder. "What are you telling them?"

"Just that you're back and that Airy is back… all the good stuff."

"I mean, before that."

"Well, I don't want to cause widespread panic. I'm not going to make the whole Spider Virus thing public until Jewel does."

"That's good," she said quietly. "That's very good… what is Jewel's plan?"

"He's going to destroy as many things as possible before the virus is opened. He wants the human race to die without hope. But that's not gonna work, because as long as _you_ are around, there's always hope."

"Fang, buttering me up when I'm already hot for you just… um… I'm trying to make this work as a cooking metaphor… and it won't. Just do me, would you?"

I hit "submit" and closed my computer. "You ever think that maybe you're a sex addict, Max?" I said conversationally.

"You're the one who seduced me three to eight times a day. I became accustomed to it. And now, after three years without you, I kind of need to get back into the old rhythm."

"Well, that's a piece of blame that I accept gladly," I said. "But, listen, Max… I want to try something…"

I leaned in and kissed her. She kissed me back… and that's all. All night we kissed, and well into the morning. That was it. Nothing else mattered.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Fang tapped Iggy on the shoulder. "Hey, dude," he said.

"Yeah?" said Iggy.

"I just got word that you were spotted in a sporting goods store in Denmark," Fang said. "Why would you do that?"

"Hey, I know we're not supposed to leave the compound, but I needed a skateboard. You know, our base is well-stocked, but there are _no_ skateboards. You ever notice that?"

"Why do we _need_ skateboards?" I fumed.

"I don't know. For skateboarding."

Fang and I glared at him. He couldn't see it, but he doubtless felt a slight burning sensation.

"Look, I thought it through," he insisted. "I went to Denmark because I don't stand out there. Everybody there is tall and pale and super-hot. Just like me, right?"

"That's Sweden, Iggy."

"Same thing! Nobody noticed, all right?"

"You're all over the Internet, man," Fang said. "If anybody saw you when you left, they could have followed you here."

"Nobody saw me," Iggy snapped. "Okay? We're safe."

There was knocking at the door.

"Brilliant, Ig," I groaned.

"Bad guys don't _knock_, Max," he retorted.

A voice echoed through the halls. "Fang, it's Gwan. Let me in."

"See?" Iggy said. "It's just Gwan."

"Right," Fang said. "I'll be right back. Nobody let Iggy get away."

Iggy made a face of mock horror as Fang went up to the exit.

"Who's Gwan?" I asked.

"Double agent," Iggy said. "By day he works for Jewel, by night he's Fang's bitch."

"Sorry?"

"Fang spared Gwan's life," Nudge explained. "He's trying to return the favor."

"Oh, good," I said.

"Yeah, Gwan's been helping us a lot," Iggy said quickly. "He's been passing all kinds of stuff, and keeping all our secrets—"

"You're still in trouble, Iggy," I said.

"Hey, the man wanted a skateboard," Nudge said. "Relax. I got your back, sweetie."

"Yeah?" Iggy said. "That's not necessary. I'm sure there are a lot of lobsters you could be defending."

"What?" Nudge demanded.

"I'm sorry, I'm still a bit steamed that you're more turned on my a giant red _bug_ than by me."

"No, no, Iggy," Nudge said. "I like the lobster because you make it, and it has all your love in it."

Iggy was silent for a few minutes. "What the hell does that mean?"

"I dunno! I'm just saying… I love you for a lot of reasons."

"You want me to go, Nudge-ster?" I asked.

"No, I'd like a witness in case Iggy says anything stupid," Nudge said.

"Okay."

"Me, say something stupid?" Iggy countered. "Nudge-ster is the one who says my _cooking_ is _sexy_."

"It's what the cooking represents, Iggy," Nudge pleaded. "It represents that you and I are gonna be together forever. You know, it's like… for the rest of our lives, you're gonna cook and I'm gonna eat it and… well, realizing that we're so incredibly in love, that… that turns me on, for some reason."

Iggy stared sightlessly at Nudge.

"Lower," I offered. His eyes made contact with Nudge's.

"You know, Nudge, I never thought of that," he said. "We were always taught to live in the moment, to hell with the future… your fault, Max. But yeah, we're… we're gonna live a while, aren't we? The future… the future is a good thing."

"Pretty randy, huh?" Nudge said.

"Totes," Iggy said.

The two of them began to slide down the hallway towards their room.

"Subtle, guys," I said.

They took off at full speed.

"You're still in trouble, Iggy," I called.

"They do that a lot," Angel commented.

"What?"

"Just wander off and do it. You and Fang had discretion, at least."

"Yeah, that's what I always… said…" I muttered. "Damn, Angel. What are you, ten? You've gotta be scarred for life."

"Oh, I was scarred for life already," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "Listening to people's thoughts while they have sex is old news."

"Why on Earth did I leave for three years?" I wondered. "I mean, I was protecting Airy, but… the rest of you could have helped me with that. I missed everything. Fang and Iggy are, like, _men_. Three years ago I was ashamed to be shorter than they were. But why do I need to be better than them? They've been through so much more than I have at this point. Gazzy, too. He's hella mature. And Nudge is this total goddess! She's absolutely beautiful. I mean… you've been around this whole time. Did you notice how friggin' beautiful she is?"

"Yeah," she said. "You've changed, too, though, Max. And if we'd been with you protecting Airy, Jewel would have released the virus long ago. We've been slowing him down."

I looked her over. "You haven't changed as much as the others," I said. "You're still a creepy little kid."

"I try not to be," she said.

"Well, you _do_ get points for effort, so I've been told. You haven't been volleying for leader again lately, have you?"

"Sometimes I think the idea's worth throwing out," she said. "But you were right about everyone changing. You had to leave in order for the rest of us to become your equal. 'Cause, you know, I may be the key to everything—but not the only one. The treasure chest to everything has six locks; you can't open it without _all_ of the keys."

I paused briefly. "Huh?"

"I'm saying there are six of us," Angel said. "I mean seven. Seven now. But Airy doesn't count, 'cause she's natural. But, the six of us are necessary together. I remember, when we thought Nudge and Iggy were dead, I was thinking, that can't be right. Not in the irrational kind of 'no way, not possible, it can't be' way, but there was a very reasonable part of me going, 'that's wrong, if they're dead, then…' I don't know. I'm just saying… six of us. That's the only way it can be _right_."

Fang returned then.

"Hey, babe," I said. "What'd you get from Gwan?"

"He thinks Jewel is starting to have a change of heart," he said. "He wants us to see if we can negotiate something with Jewel in person."

"Huh," I said. "We gonna do that, then?"

"Heh-heh, no. Gwan passes on some good info, but I don't trust him _that_ much. I trust him… oh, about as much as Iggy can stay on."

Iggy and Nudge were coming back to the conference room at that point, and Iggy threw a potted plant at Fang, who promptly dodged.

"You guys are done already?" I said, alarmed.

"It's tragic, really," Fang said.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," Iggy muttered.

"Well, it _is_ roughly proportionate to the amount of time it takes to sing a song, lovey," Nudge said cheerfully.

"ENOUGH!" Iggy said. "What information did Gwan give you this time?"

"Nothing important, believe me," Fang said. "Jewel having a change of heart. Call me cynical, but I find that hard to believe."


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi, I just wanted to run this by you people. I'm just wondering if anybody else loves **_**Maximum Ride **_**and its characters quite as much as I do. Here's how I know that I love them dearly: I own all five books (there's still just five, right?) and sometimes I'll snatch one of them off the bookshelf and open it up, and no matter what page in the entire series I open to, I start weeping. Anybody else feel that strongly about them? I just get very emotional at every single thing that happens to these kids. They're people I genuinely care about.**

**Chapter 12**

Keegan scanned the skies through the skylight of the central chamber.

"Looking for aliens?" Niles said cheerfully.

"Just trying to look at the future," Keegan said. "No one can _really_ know the future, you understand. There are a lot of things I have to break through to have any idea at all of what's going on. Right now, for example, we're going to be confronted by two douche bags."

"Lang and Shey?"

"That's right."

Lang and Shey, ranked fifth and sixth respectively, were the resident bullies of Jewel's court. They had been known to respond to the violent death of a comrade with nothing but guffaws.

"Heya, Coogan," Shey said. "Keep up the cloud-gazing, sport."

"Keegan," Niles said.

"Hmm?"

"Her name is Keegan," Niles snapped.

Shey looked Niles up and down. "And you are?"

"I'm her boyfriend," Niles said.

"Really?" Shey said, circling Niles. "She's awful plain, isn't she?"

"What's a couple of kids like you doing in this organization, anyway?" Lang demanded. "You're not valuable."

"She's got more value than you two losers," Niles hissed.

Shey wrapped her arms around Niles. "Oh, we can't have infighting, not here, not now," she said in a sultry voice. "That invariably leads to murder…"

Jewel dropped from the ceiling suddenly. "Keegan, you've got to help me," he said.

"Um, okay," she said. "But I don't know what I can do that you can't."

"Keegan, there are things in your power that I can't even imagine," Jewel said.

Keegan gasped. How could he know? Once someone learned of her power, there was no way to counteract that. It was one of her few limitations.

Niles braced himself.

"Keegan, I've never known anyone with more insight than you," Jewel said. "Lao Hu is avoiding me. There's talk that she's trying to get rid of the antibodies that will protect her from the Spider Virus. There must be a way you can get her back onto the team."

Keegan sighed. He didn't know. He only meant… her humanity, perhaps she could call it.

"I don't know, Master," she said.

"Lao Hu wants to die?" Lang said.

"I can't let that happen," Jewel said. "Is there no way to change someone's mind when that happens?"

"Sure there is," Shey said. "Just hang out under the balcony going 'I can't lose you, Lao Hu! I _love_ you!'"

Lang choked out laughter. "Oh, man, does the robot overlord have a little crush?"

Jewel grabbed Lang and Shey by their throats and held them over his head. "Lao Hu is a valuable soldier," he said. "That is her place, and she is forgetting that, which I cannot allow. And the two of you had best not forget _your_ place." He dropped them. They were unconscious.

"This is just about station, then?" Niles said warily.

"I can't lose Lao Hu," Jewel snarled. "I just can't."

Niles and Keegan caught the double meaning.

Jewel promptly hauled himself up the wall, meeting Lao Hu on a walkway high above.

"How many more times must I apologize to you?" he demanded.

"You broke my arms, Master Jewel," she replied coldly. "There's no apologizing for that."

"I broke your arms while professing my love for you," Jewel cried. "That must hold some weight."

Lao Hu stared. "Absolutely not." She brushed past him.

"Now, wait just one minute," Jewel said. "You've been my colonel for three years. You _know_ what happens to people who are openly defiant."

"Yes, but I've witnessed people being shot out of cannons at the bottom of the sea," Lao Hu said. "That makes what you do look pretty."

"Well, I _do_ like being pretty, but that's not my point," Jewel said. "You're defying me. You know that always results in a quick death. But I think you understand that there are some people I would never choose to harm, and you, Lao Hu Cho, are one of them. I would _never_ hurt you."

She turned to glare at him.

"Am I right?" Jewel pestered.

"It's Cho Lao Hu," she finally said.

"What?"

"I'm Chinese. My name is Cho Lao Hu. Surname comes first."

"Of course."

"And to your theory, perhaps I didn't know that," she said. "Perhaps I thought that you _would_ kill me and I simply did not care."

"Be my queen, Lao Hu," Jewel said.

"What?!"

"Be my queen. The other night, you and I fell in love, plain as day. You can't let something like broken arms stand in the way of that."

"You didn't love me," Lao Hu said. "You were only trying to figure out the mechanics of it."

"That's my function," Jewel said. "I was meant to be logical. But you know what else I was meant to be? As human as possible. I _want_ to love you, Lao Hu. Let me try. Please."

She stepped up to him and caressed his face. "You have a beautiful soul," she whispered.

"And it's all yours," Jewel said. He pulled the tiny gray canister from some part of his body. "When the time comes, I want you, my queen, to open the Spider Virus."

Lao Hu smiled wickedly. "Gladly and absolutely," she hissed.

**This one was hard to write! I wanted to convey that Jewel and Lao Hu are in love, but still evil. Do you think I pulled it off?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Hello, Max."

My head snapped up. It was Jeb.

I wasn't even in the mood to address him directly. I looked down at Fang, who was sprawled across the couch with his head on my lap, and asked, "How long has _he_ been here?"

"No idea," Fang said. "Longer than I've been here; longer than Iggy and Nudge have been here too."

"And _why_ is he here?"

"For the same reason I've always been here, Max," Jeb said. "To help you."

"Uh-huh," I said. "Get out."

He shrugged and departed the ICBG's little living room.

"Where is he staying?" I asked. "I've been here for nearly two weeks and I never saw him."

"He pops up occasionally," Iggy offered. "But we have no idea where he is the majority of the time."

"Well, I'm gonna talk to Danny about that," I muttered. "If they're hiding this guy from us, maybe the ICBG aren't entirely on our side."

There was a knock at the door then. I looked around the room. Me, the original flock, Airy, Total, Akila, Mom, Ella… basically, everyone I knew who was nice enough to knock was right there in the room.

"Uh… come in," I said warily.

A wispy little figure danced in. "Keegan!" I said, rushing up to give her a hug. "What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing," she said. "Just thought maybe you'd want to hang out. I really miss our double-dates."

"Yeah, those were the best," I said fondly. "I guess we could just kind of… hang. That'd be okay. Everybody is here in the, uh, living room…"

I looked around. It didn't feel right.

"Hmm," I said. "You know, back when we first met, when for brief periods of time I felt like a normal school kid, hanging out might have been okay. But now… We're in a secret underground lair. We're putting all our efforts into preparing for war. And on top of that, I'm a mother now. Hanging out just doesn't seem to fly anymore."

Keegan nodded. "Whatever you want to call it, as long as we're together, best friends, it's okay by me."

I noticed the open door, where Jeb was loitering.

"I thought I heard Keegan," he said.

"Hi, Jeb," she said, beaming. "It's so good to see you."

Under my burning glare, Jeb left. I stared at Keegan, taken aback. "What's this, Keegs?"

"Max," Keegan said gently. "Jeb is a good guy. He loves you. You need to stop being so suspicious of him. You trust me, and I trust him. Transitive property."

"Keegan, I can't," I said. "Honestly, after people touch surfaces that Jeb has touched, I trust those people less. It's like Jeb's untrustworthiness is a material object. He almost radiates falsehood."

"Max, trust me," Keegan said. "Please? I love you like a sister. I know that to you, I'm nothing more than a very dear friend, but to me, we're sisters. There's no one in the world you should trust more than me… and I trust Jeb Batchelder."

I turned around and plopped back onto the couch, this time with my head in Fang's lap.

"If you don't want to trust me, I'd never force you," she said.

"I want to, Keegan. Jeb is just kind of a touchy subject." I looked up at her; something occurred to me. "Keegan, are you the Voice?"

"What voice?" she asked.

"_The_ Voice. When I met you, it had been talking to me, giving me directions, for… like, eight months or so. And the last thing it said to me was that it was leaving me, and that I should listen to you instead."

"Of course not, Max," she said. "The day we met really _was_ the day we met."

"Right," I said. "It's just… the way you said you loved me, it kind of reminded me of something it said a while back."

Keegan smiled. "Well, I do love you, but I have nothing to do with the Voice."

I wasn't sure. Keegan had promised me that I would always have doubts about her, that she'd never influence me into trusting her utterly. But I did, and I liked to think that it was of my own intuition.

"Can you tell me who the Voice was?" I asked.

"Um… why?" she asked.

"Please, Keegan. It's really important to me."

Keegan's eyes turned skyward for a brief moment, and then she said, "The universe gives us many gifts, gifts to send us off in the right direction. Your gifts are your mutations and other special powers. The Voice was… simply another one of those. Just like Nudge being able to feel the past, or Angel seeing the future."

I stared at Keegan for a long moment. "I don't believe you, Keegan," I said.

"That's… that's what I saw."

"Oh, come on. The Voice is _not_ the same thing as everyone else's powers. There's gotta be more to it than that."

"Don't you believe in a higher power, Max?" Keegan said. "The universe, fate, God. Whatever you want to call it."

"Sure I do."

"Really?" Keegan said, surprised. "I thought you'd be the more 'no deity would let these kinds of things happen to me' type."

"Nah. A lot of thought went into living things; it's no higher power's fault that people wanted to screw with that."

"Well, good," Keegan said, smiling. "I'm saying that you're gifted more than anyone else. Your Voice… was the voice of the universe itself, guiding you, nurturing you, loving you, until you had everything done that you had to do. Now you're independent. You know what you're doing now, right?"

"…No," I said. "But let me see if I'm following you. We all have gifts, gifts to be _used_. Might the gift of being able to do absolutely anything using only your imagination fall under that category?"

Keegan pursed her lips. "I knew you'd go there," she said. "That was completely random! My gift is Niles. Nothing else."

"But I thought you said nothing was completely random," I pestered her. "That everything done is part of the grand design. You're contradicting yourself, Keegan."

Keegan stood up angrily. "I didn't come here to talk about that!" she snarled. "I thought we were gonna hang out!"

"Hang out?" I demanded, also standing. "What planet are you on, Keegan? There's no time for hanging out. I mean, I'm leaving corpses in my wake! Corpses of normal, innocent humans. That's never happened to me before. I'm putting everything I can into saving the world, and _you_ want to 'hang out'?"

"Max, I… I… please…" Keegan stammered.

"Get out," I said.

"What?" she said, horrified.

"Get out of my sight. Get out of my life. I don't want you around here anymore. You're not my best friend. My best friends are the people who have been here at my side for my entire life, fighting with me, crying for me when I couldn't get my own tears out. _Not_ kids I happened to meet at a school, who drop by to _hang out_. That's no friend of mine."

"No…" she said. Her eyes welled up. "Please, Max, don't say that. You're my friend."

"Out," I snapped. "If you have any respect for me whatsoever, leave now."

"I do respect you… more than anyone—"

"THEN GO!" I screeched.

Keegan made one final pathetic face and then disappeared.

Airy wrapped her arms around my legs. My final declaration had started her crying.

"Mommy," she sobbed.

I held her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

"You _were_ kind of harsh, Max," Ella said. "I mean, she's only afraid of the impact of her actions, you know?"

"You don't think I am?" I demanded. "You don't think _I'm_ afraid that my actions will screw everything up? You know what I would give to be _her_? I used to be just like her! I used to be someone who was willing to shirk their duties. But I'm not. I'm taking responsibility, and it may cost me my life and the lives of everyone I love! But I'm doing it anyway, because that's who I am. I'm strong. Keegan is weak, and her life is simple. I _want_ that, damn it!"

Fang stood up and wrapped his arms around me. "You don't want to be weak, babe," he said.

"I do," I said. "If I was weak, then that would mean that my life had gone differently. I'm strong because of the way my life turned out."

"There'd be no _us_, though," Fang muttered.

"Hey, as long as I'm dreaming about a parallel universe, 'weak Max' has her own weak Fang. Or whatever your name would have been."

Fang gave me five kisses beneath the ear. "Jealousy is no reason to kick Keegan out," he said. "Do you still love her?"

"Maybe," I said. "I need my space from her, regardless."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Fang and I sat in a tree, looking up at the stars. I couldn't help but think that the ICBG had picked out a damn good location for a base. The trees were good for… you know, whatever it is you expect trees to be good for, and the sky… ah, I tell you, there was never a cloud anywhere. That didn't matter much during the day, but at night… stars, baby, stars. It's awesome.

"What are you thinking about?" Fang said.

"Like you need to ask?" I said. "You know."

"Well…" he said thoughtfully. "You're watching the stars, that I know for sure. But what else? I've got no way of knowing."

"Well, there's saving the world," I admitted. "That tends to take up head-space. I'm not so scared of Jewel anymore, I don't think. But he's not the only thing out there."

"The Survivors," Fang said, nodding. "We've had some dealings with them. They do seem quite colossally evil." He looked at my hands. "I just realized… where's our promise ring?"

I bit my lip. "Oh, I'm sorry about that, babe. I didn't _want_ to stop wearing it, honest to God. But I've grown six inches, and it didn't fit anymore. And then I lost it. I'm sorry."

He put a finger to my lips. "It's okay," he said. "I've been thinking about maybe getting something more valuable on you anyway."

I stared at him, and I knew that this was why we were out here. He'd gotten off of the subject of saving the world as quickly as possible.

"Fang, please," I said. "No engagement."

"Max, please, yes engagement," he countered, leaning in to me.

"Fang," I grumbled. "This isn't the time."

"Why not?" he said innocently.

"We're at war," I said. "We could die at a moment's notice."

"No, babe," he said. "We're gonna _live_."

"You don't know that!" I said. "And if you assume that, it's just gonna make our deaths all that much more terrible."

"What do you suggest?" he asked.

"A backup plan," I said. "A will, you know? First, let's get this clear: if I'm ever in a life-threatening situation, save yourself. Save Airy, save the flock. Make me your bottom priority."

He stared at me. "Yeah, that's gonna happen," he said sarcastically.

"I'm serious," I said.

He grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed me against the tree trunk. "I'm serious too," he whispered. "You've been dodging my affections my entire life, Max. Not anymore."

"Your entire life?" I repeated skeptically.

"Yeah," he said. "But maybe, with the entire world begging you to say yes to me, you'll cave."

"What, are you gonna blog about it?" I taunted.

"No," Fang said. "The ICBG have resources. They've planted little projectors all over the world." He switched on a small device. I saw the image pop up in the sky: me and Fang, exactly where we were currently, filmed from some impossible vantage point.

"Look at me," Fang said, and I heard it boom out across the countryside. Yeah, it was pretty easy to believe that the entire world was watching.

He held out the box and opened it. "Marry me, Maximum Ride," he said.

You'll notice he didn't say it in the form of a question. Manipulative bastard.

That didn't occur to me until much later. I saw the ring… it wasn't a diamond. It was an onyx gemstone, black as black bears attacking the black forest campground at midnight, just like Fang's eyes and hair and wings.

"Wow," I said. I took the ring in my hand. Running down the side were four tinier gemstones. The first was the palest blue, the second caramel-brown, and the last two a slightly darker blue. I picked up on it; those stones represented Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel, just as the big one represented Fang himself. The stones matched their five different eye colors so beautifully, it was like they were really there, wrapped around that golden ring.

But the beauty of the ring didn't stop there. The gems only took up a quarter of the ring's surface. The rest was engraved. Not with words, but pictures. I could only imagine what kind of machine could have engraved those images so flawlessly. And it wasn't something I could show off. It was just for us. You'd have to be a bird, with bird eyes, in order to see the pictures.

The pictures told the story of my love with Fang. Not in a completely literal way—I don't think I'd want an image of the Red-Haired Wonder on my engagement ring—but as depictions of Fang and myself, our body language and expression changing over time as our feelings for one another developed, and we began to understand exactly how we viewed each other.

"Fang…" I said. "This… this ring is fantastic. And you're… and you're… and you're fantastic." I looked up at the giant projection, which, naturally, only showed the back of my head at that moment. I turned back to Fang to get in full view of the world. "Yes," I said. "That's all I can say: yes. I should have never said anything else to you, for our entire lives, apart from 'yes'."

He put the ring on my finger, and I clamped my mouth onto his. I wanted the world to see that.

I made sure he turned the thing off, though, before we went back to base. No one was gonna see me and Fang getting all sexed up. That was for us alone.

Inside the base, the flock was waiting. Only the four of them. Everyone else in the base must have understood: this was a flock moment. A moment for the six of us, no one else.

"You said yes!" Nudge said happily. "Give me a hug!"

I did so. "Of course I said yes," I muttered.

"I'm so happy," Nudge said. "I am so, so happy."

"No one will stop us now, will they?" Gazzy said. "We're all gonna be together forever, huh?"

"That's right, dude," Fang said. "That's right."

I blushed and turned away.

"Oh, no," Fang said sharply.

I turned back to the flock. They all looked horrified.

"No!" Nudge screamed. "No, no, no! It can't be! IT CAN'T BE! NOT HERE, NOT NOW! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"

"What's going on?" I said uneasily.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Nudge screeched. She ran down the hallway to her room. Iggy followed behind her cautiously.

Gazzy plopped into a chair. He looked like he was in shock. Angel ran a soothing hand across his shoulders.

"What is it?" I demanded.

Fang sighed. "It's your expiration date, Max. One week from today."

I covered my mouth with my hand. "Oh, no."

"We're gonna get rid of it," he said hurriedly. "We're gonna get rid of it, then we're gonna get married, then we're gonna save the world."

I put my hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Backup plan?" I said quietly.

He stared. "I… I don't know. What's the backup plan?"

"We save the world _right now_," I said. "Just in case, all right? Just in case we _can't_ clear my expiration date, let's get everything out of the way."

"Okay," he said. "I… yeah. Okay."

"And then, if we do figure out how to get rid of it, we'll have a really good life ahead of us," I added. "Okay? Don't freak out, babe." I looked out the door, to the funky, bad-ass stars. "Everything is gonna end up _right_."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

We were congratulating Max and Fang on their engagement. I couldn't have been happier.

"Oh, no," Fang said sharply.

Then the horror began to spread. Everyone was tense. But what really terrified me was Nudge.

"No!" she screamed. "No, no, no! It can't be! IT CAN'T BE! NOT HERE, NOT NOW! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"

"What's going on?" Max said, her voice shaking.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Nudge screamed. She whipped it out like a friggin' banshee. Then she started running to our room.

Apparently, something had happened… enough to make everybody completely freak out, but Max didn't know what it was. What sort of thing could go that way?

It's times like this that it really and truly sucks to be blind.

I followed Nudge to our room. She had her face buried in a pillow and was screaming and screaming and screaming… as far as I could tell, she hadn't taken a breath since the conference room.

"Nudge?" I said, placing a hand on the small of her back.

She inhaled sharply. The screaming stopped, but she continued to cry and shudder.

"What happened?" I whispered. "What the hell happened to make you spazz out like this, pretty-pretty?"

Nudge lifted her head from the pillow, allowing me to tousle her hair. "Max…" she whispered. "Max's expiration date came up. It's 07-26-2013. One week from today."

"Shit!" I said. "Oh, hot damn, that's awful."

"Max is gonna die," Nudge wailed. "One week, and she's just gonna up and quit living… then what? Then little Airy has no mommy, and then the rest of us expire, and… and the whole world goes to hell! I… I always knew that everything we ever worked for was worth nothing! Nothing, nothing, nothing!"

Nudge pounded her head against the mattress and turned away from me.

"Sweetie, I think you're wrong," I whispered. "Max will be just fine. She'll find a way around this. Okay? We know she will."

"Some things can't be done," she replied. "We gotta stop fooling ourselves that 'everything' is gonna turn out great."

"No, but it will," I said. "It's Max. Nothing's going to kill Max. Never."

"It's not… that… easy…" she heaved.

I caressed the back of her neck. "It's okay…"

"It's not!" she snapped. "There aren't any words that can soothe me, Iggy, so just stop trying."

Well, I had more than words. I continued to massage her, and I sang quietly. "_I love you a bushel and a peck… a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck… a hug around the neck, and a barrel and a heap… a barrel and a heap, and I'm talking in my sleep about you… about you… about you…_"

She lifted her head, her demeanor puzzled.

"_'Cause I love you a bushel and a peck, you bet your pretty neck I do…_"

"Iggy, what is that?" she whispered.

"That's 'A Bushel and a Peck'. 1950, Frank Loesser, _Guys and Dolls_."

"I've never heard you sing before," she said. "…It's phenomenal. You must have the best singing voice I've ever heard in my life!"

"You can sing, too, Nudge," I said. "We all can. It's right there in our blood."

She snuggled up to me. "I don't know if Max will live through the week," she murmured.

"You know something?" I said thoughtfully. "We've been wondering about that every week of our lives. And we're all still alive."

"The expiration date is a definite thing, though."

"No. No it isn't. I don't think it is."

Nudge kissed me. "Well, just in case… I don't think we should hang around here hiding from her."

She slid onto the floor, her legs plainly weighing her down like lead. She fought through it and left the room. I followed her, my body never getting farther than an inch from hers.

In the conference room, she gave Max a hug. "I love you," Nudge said. "You've been better than a mom, better than a sister."

Max tightened her grip. "I'll always love you, Nudge. But this isn't goodbye. Remember that. I'll pull through, baby."

I heard microphone feedback. Fang had grabbed the seldom-used intercom system on the front wall. "Jeb Batchelder, please report to the conference room," he said in a clipped, professional voice. I'd admired his stoicism for as long as I could remember, but what I think I admired more was that at that very moment, he let it go. His voice, audible both over the intercom and just across the room, quickly escalated into a growl. "Right now," he said fiercely. "If you ever cared for Maximum Ride, if you ever really wished to see the world survive, if you're truly capable of any real human emotion… then on your life, Batchelder, wherever you are, come to the conference room _right now_."

He clicked the intercom system down, almost silently. He turned around, and quickly stopped in his tracks, I guessed at the sight of Nudge and Max's embrace. He smoothly changed his course… to me.

I wrapped an arm around him. "Rock on, big brother," I said.

He gently tap-tapped my chest. "That's the plan, little brother," he said.

I pressed my forehead against his. I still considered him my elder, though he wasn't nearly as tall as me, or even as tall as Nudge. I hoped, though, that he could see all my affection for him in my eyes.

He pushed me away. "Don't worry yourself over this, man," he said. "It's not your concern."

"I'm part of the flock, aren't I?" I countered. "Everything to do with the flock is my concern."

"Iggy, this isn't about you," he said. "I am _begging_ you, let me take care of this."

I realized he was serious. He truly didn't want me to be noble.

I nodded, not saying a word.

Footsteps entered the room cautiously. "You called?" Jeb said gently.

Fang squeezed my shoulder. "You look after your life, all right, buddy? It's the only one you've got. Now, I'm off to go take care of mine."

I smiled as Fang walked off. I knew what he meant: Max's life was his, and vice-versa. I motioned for _my_ life to come to me.

"Come here, Nudge," I said, beckoning her. She skimmed right into my arms. "This is a personal, private thing for them," I whispered. "Let's let them sort it out."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Iggy ushered Nudge out of the room; Angel and Gazzy followed. Jeb watched their progress, then turned back to me.

"Why do you want to see me?" he asked.

I held Max's shoulder and spun her around so he could see the back of her neck. She was facing me, and she looked slightly ashamed.

"Oh, dear," Jeb said.

"Yeah, 'oh dear'," I sneered. "Get rid of it, Jeb."

"Get… get rid of it?"

"Yes!" I snarled. "The expiration date is programmed into our genetics, right? Re-program it!"

"Ah, yes," Jeb said. "All of you were set to expire on the day of your eighteenth birthday."

"You know that?" I snapped. "Why didn't you ever tell us that?"

"I didn't know when your birthdays were any better than you did," he said defensively. "I didn't want to alarm you with a cold countdown."

"My birthday," Max whispered. "My birthday is July twenty-sixth?"

I turned to her, surprised at her light tone.

She shrugged. "I've just been waiting a lifetime to learn that."

"You're going to die on that day unless _this guy_ does something about it," I said, towering over Jeb. "You hear me, Jeb? You get rid of the expiration date. I don't care what the process is. I don't care who you have to kill, I don't care who you have to blow. I don't care if removing our expiration dates is another one of your little tests to build up our saving-the-world skills—_you_ are gonna do it. Get… it… done. If you can't fix Max before her day comes, I'm gonna kill you. It's that simple."

Jeb seemed unfazed. "Very well," he said. "I'll take care of it."

He turned to go.

Max hugged me. "Fang, you take such good care of me. I don't know how I can repay that."

"Please," I said. "I've never done anything right in our relationship. I want to try."

She looked shocked. "Fang, that's total crock. You're everything I could ask for."

Right.

I clutched her hand. "Go get some rest, babe," I said. "That would mean a lot to me."

"Okay," she said, confused. "Um… do you think Airy should know about this?"

"That's your call. You're the mommy."

"Fang, I never wanted to do this alone," she pleaded. "Help me. Do we tell our daughter about the expiration date or not?"

I considered. "I think that we shouldn't get Airy upset. I'd hate that. But if she sees the numbers… we should never lie to her."

She nodded. "Okay. Good."

"Go to bed, Max," I said.

"Okay," she muttered.

I turned and followed Jeb out of the compound.

"Jeb!" I called.

I didn't know whether to expect an answer—he had a habit of disappearing. But he hadn't gone far, and he turned around to face me. "Yes, Fang?" he said quietly.

"Fight me, Jeb," I said.

"What?" he said blankly. "Don't you want me to remove your expiration dates?"

"Please," I said. "I need some peace of mind, some relief. Before you go, fight me."

I charged at him. "FIGHT ME!" I bellowed.

I knocked him to the ground. "Come on," I said. "Put some effort in. I need this. I need this desperately."

Jeb got shakily to his feet and punched me dead in the face.

His fist was hard as mountain stone. My jaw broke, and I tumbled down the hill.

How could he have done that? No human had the strength to hurt me _that_ badly.

He looked down at me, his fist still held up defensively.

"You wanted me to fight back," he said apologetically.

I set my jaw back in place with my hands. "Thank you," I said. "That's all I needed. Now save Max."

He nodded. "Of course."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

I went to bed, just as Fang had asked.

This was supposed to have been the greatest night of my life. I looked at the ring, the most perfect ring ever. Heck, Fang could have strung together some grass and put it around my finger, and it would have been the perfect ring. The ring that I had was so incredibly beyond perfect, unimaginable perfection. It was… paradisiacal. Yeah.

But then along comes my expiration date, the thing I'd been dreading for most of my life. There's no person or organization or monster that I'd ever feared as much as expiring: the moment that my heart would just quit beating.

I knew Fang had wanted to round off our engagement with a night of passion. I hoped that when he came to bed, he'd understand that I wasn't really zoned for passion at the moment. Physically, I was still burning for him, but it just wasn't the right night anymore.

I got out of bed and dragged myself down the halls. I had to get my legs moving.

Angel and Gazzy were out there in the hall. I quickly tried to shelve the thoughts in my head.

"Hi, Max," Angel said quietly. I saw in her eyes that she didn't judge me. An enigma she may have been, but I knew that whatever was happening between the two of us she would _never_ judge me.

Gazzy wrapped himself around me. "I can't lose you, Max," he wailed. "Three years ago I thought that I'd lost Airy and Iggy and Nudge and you all at once, and it almost killed me. If I lose you again, I think I _will_ die."

"Angel?" I said.

"Yeah, Max?" she replied. She knew what my question was, but she allowed me to say it out loud.

"Can you see the future right now?" I asked. "Will I live?"

Her eyes glassed over. "Someone will save you," she said.

I frowned. "What does that mean?"

"Just… exactly that. Someone will save you."

"Angel," I said threateningly.

"I know I'm being painfully cryptic!" she said, throwing her arms up. "I'm not trying to! I don't want to be _that kid_ anymore. But that's all I've got. No matter how much I probe your immediate future, all I'm getting is… someone will save you."

"Well, that sounds good anyway," I said grudgingly. "I can live with that. You better whip that prophesizing shit into shape pretty soon though, kid. We're gonna _need_ to know the future when we're storming the gates of Jewel's compound."

"When are we doing that?" Gazzy said nervously.

"Day after tomorrow," Angel replied. "I see your plans fermenting, Max. This'll turn out great, I think."

Angel ruffled her brother's hair, and I wondered, briefly, what would become of the two of them. Though at one point I'd considered all six of us to be siblings, that had changed, with Fang and I pairing off and then Iggy and Nudge. But where would Gazzy and Angel find love? It was impossible to imagine either of them finding a relationship… _anywhere_. And yet, would either of them _need_ someone to love? They both had a mystical quality to them that made me think that they didn't need nobody no time. Angel more so than the Gasman, but still both of them. If I was wrong, though, and they would have to spend their lives looking for love in a world that could never accept them… well, that was very, very upsetting to think about. Painful, even.

Angel looked up at me. "Don't fear, Max," she said. "The world will always be a good place to live."

"Yeah, but what about us as individuals?" I asked. "Will the world be good to us?"

She shrugged. "If it doesn't, then the world is an ungrateful bitch and we would do well to find a new place to live."

I raised an eyebrow. "It's entirely possible," she said cheerfully.

"Wow," I said. "Well, you've certainly given me stuff to chew on, Angel. Now then… about the master plan to take down all the bad guys. What exactly am I planning?"

"Glad you asked," Angel said. "Well, you are a master tactician, and as usual you've proven yourself a worthy leader." She sent me mental images of the plan.

"Oh, wow, I _am_ brilliant," I said. "Okay, let's discuss this plan further… tomorrow, all right? You kids get to bed."

Gazzy gave me a final hug, then we all departed.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The next morning we were ready to go-go-go. When Airy was awake, the preparations began.

I held her up. "I love you, sweetie," I whispered.

"I love you too, Mommy," she said. She looked at the flock, all packed up and ready to go. "Where are you going?"

"We're going to defeat Jewel," I said. "And Airy, we may never come back."

"Max!" Fang said, shocked.

"Airy can understand," I told her. "She can handle it."

Airy nodded solemnly.

"If we don't come back," I continued. "Then, um…" I turned uncertainly to Dr. Martinez.

"Grandma," she offered, smiling.

"Yeah… Grandma," I said. "Grandma will take care of you. Okay?"

"Grandma?" Airy said, frowning.

"Yeah," I said. "Grandma." I pointed to Dr. Martinez… occasionally I still felt some discomfort when calling her Mom, and she really didn't look like _anybody_'s grandma. But they were titles she had earned. She certainly made the cookies for the job.

Airy looked at her uncertainly, then fluttered into her arms. "Grandma," she said lovingly.

"Oh!" Mom said, alarmed. "Oh, my… oh, sweetie."

Airy turned back to me. "I'll miss you, Mommy," she said.

"Me too, baby girl," I said. "I'll try to come back."

"Okay, Mommy," she said.

I gave her and Mom a final hug. "Love you, Mom," I said.

"Take care," she replied.

I turned to Ella. "Hey, little sis," I said. "Have you ever resented me at all?"

"Of course not," she said, alarmed. "What brought that on?"

I shrugged. "I guess I'm the kind of sister who casts a shadow. I was just wondering if it ever bothered you."

"No, Max," she said, hugging me. "I love you. Come back safe, okay?"

"You know I'll try," I said.

"That's not good enough," Ella said. "_Do_."

I stepped back, surprised. "Well, okay," I said. "I _will_ come back safely, then. Bye, Ella."

I stooped down to pat Total. "I love you, you annoying talking dog, you."

"I know you do, Max," he said. "Sure you don't want me along?"

"Are you offering?" I said, confused.

"No, I'm just saying…"

"Right, right," I said. "It's okay."

"'Cause, you know, I have an expiration date too," he said. "I'll always have a stake in this."

"Total, you should never doubt that you're a bona fide member of the flock," I said.

"I know," he said. "Just wanted to hear it said aloud. Later days, Max."

I patted him again, then Akila. She licked me across the face.

The flock departed the living room. In the conference room, Danny was waiting for us. The bespectacled, red-skinned octopus-man tapped me on the shoulder.

"Your plan is solid," he said. "Fare thee well."

"You sure you don't want us to come?" Ray said hopefully.

"It's not practical, fellas," I said. "Next time, for sure, though."

We went outside. Me, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel.

And then, for the first time in years, six pairs of wings unfurled.

I started crying.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The six of us flew in a tighter formation than ever before. No one wanted to get out of touch range with me, and to that effect we were all flying in a Max sandwich.

Fang was directly above me, rubbing my back. "What's on your mind, babe?" he said.

"Well… I'm gonna be eighteen," I said. "Even if the expiration date does kick in, I'm gonna be eighteen. That's… that's special. For some reason, I like the idea."

He ran his fingers through my hair. "It is special," he said.

"You picked the right time to propose, honest you did," I said.

"Sure," he said.

I reached up to cup his face. "Don't go to too many lengths to keep me safe, babe," I said. "I don't want us both to be dead."

"Max, one of us dead _is_ both of us dead," he said. "You ought to know that."

"One of us dead is _all_ of us dead," Iggy said. "You're the one who said it yourself, Max. Years ago. Three years that seem to add up to a million… fewer than six of us is not 'us'."

I tapped Iggy on the hand comfortingly. "You know I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure there are _always_ six of us. I'm just working out the worst-case scenario. Like a will, you know?"

"Right," Iggy said. "By the way, where are we going?"

I shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure of the country, but the base I was captured in was in southern Asia. China, maybe India."

"Where were you staying before?" Fang asked. "With Felicia and Albert?"

"Way out in the Pacific," I said quietly.

Fang stared at me. "You were on the wing a long time, huh?"

"I was driven part of the way by Jewel's thugs," I said. "But, yeah… there was a lot of flying."

"You're so amazing, you know," he said. "You're… unbelievable, that's what you are."

"No, that's _you_," I corrected. "I'd fly any distance to find you. I'd fly far and fast enough to reverse the Earth's rotation. Like that one Superman film!"

He continued to massage my shoulders. "I'd fly straight to the sun for you," he said. "And I'd never stop until I got you back to Earth."

I blinked. "Well, shoot, I'd never try to do a dumb thing like that."

He laughed powerfully. "Well… hey, in case you missed it, I love you."

"I love you too, Fang," I said. "I love all of you!"

"We're gonna save you, Max," Gazzy said. "I swear."

"Enough," I said. "For now, let's assume that _that_ little bit is taken care of. Right now? Now we're laying waste to Jewel."

"Yeah, baby, yeah," Iggy said enthusiastically.


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, these next couple of chapters are highly intense—too much for a single viewpoint, or even third-person. So welcome to my first-ever multiple-POV chapter, which will be followed by another, maybe two. I hope I pull it off.**

**Chapter 19**

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

**Third Person**

The flock landed on the outskirts of Jewel's newest compound. Though only one hundred human beings populated the place, many eyes were already on them.

"Very well, then," Jewel said from the surveillance room. "Your information was good, Gwan, but it doesn't refute the fact that you've been betraying _us_ for three years now. You betray us, you betray them, what do you do with a guy like that?"

Gwan stood confidently. "You, Master Jewel, know as well as anyone where the loyalties of He Gwan lie."

Jewel grabbed Gwan by the throat. "The loyalties of He Gwan lie with He Gwan. What do you _do_… with a guy like that?" he repeated.

Jewel turned his eye to the side. His other colonels were standing, watching passively. Lao Hu sat in front of them. Jewel edged up to her.

"What would you do with Gwan, my queen?" he said politely.

Lao Hu pursed her lips. "I have known Gwan since my childhood. He was my teacher."

"I understand," Jewel said. "If I crushed the life out of him, then, you would be…?"

"Displeased, to be perfectly honest with you," Lao Hu replied nervously. "Can you show him pity?"

Jewel caressed Lao Hu's face with his free hand. "I would, but he has been betraying us, am I right? Can we afford that?"

"He was repaying a debt," Lao Hu said. "An act of such nobility deserves our praise, not our punishment."

Jewel looked to Gwan. "And so compassion is found in the heart of the evil robot overlord," he said cheerfully. "You can thank Lao Hu for her kind words later." He set Gwan down and pushed him out of the room.

"I gotta be honest, I don't think I would have cared much how you felt a week ago," Jewel said. "You've changed me, Lao Hu."

Lao Hu slipped under Jewel's arm. "Is that good or bad?" she asked.

"Oh, it's good," Jewel said. "It's what I was meant for. To change, like a person. Seriously, though… one week ago I never would have hesitated to kill Gwan."

"Well, I am glad you did not," Lao Hu said. "If you're going to kill someone, kill Huzi."

"Sorry?" Huzi said, alarmed.

"Why Huzi?" Jewel asked.

Lao Hu shrugged. "Well, you know, Huzi's gay. With a hundred people, that's not the best way to continue the species."

"We've worked that out," Huzi said. "…Right?"

Jewel laughed. "I'm not gonna kill you, Huzi."

"Yeah, I was joking, Huzi," Lao Hu said. "I know how it's going to work."

Brigid tore herself away from the group to look out the glass window. Jewel tapped her on the shoulder.

"You okay, pudding?" he said.

"Fang," she rasped. "I want him… I want him so much…"

Jewel patted her again. "You're gonna be fine, pudding. Get everybody to their battle stations."

Brigid blinked. "Right… okay." She departed.

"Now _she_ is a liability," Huzi said. "We want her insanity in the bloodline?"

"She wasn't always insane," Jewel said. "And frankly, I see no downside to recruiting crazy people. No benefits, but no conceivable downside."

Seeing Fang with Max had not brought peace to Brigid's mind, as she had thought. The couple reunited only heightened Brigid's desire, and her rage.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

**Max**

I led the flock through Jewel's halls. They were eerily empty.

"We've never seen this place," Fang said. "We've been trying to find it, but we never could trace them all the way back. Do you think they know we're here?"

"Likely," I said. "But I've seen this place. Now that the organization's numbers are down so low, they're shamefully unready for a lot of crap."

"So, do we split up?" Nudge asked.

"Not a chance in hell, dude. We stay together. That's how we survive."

Suddenly a mirror dropped in front of us. Then another rose behind us, then just behind me… mirrors everywhere. Spinning, whirling, moving… I couldn't make sense of it. When I opened my eyes, I was all alone. The mirrors took up only one wall, and beyond that was a long hallway.

"All right," I muttered. "We're splitting up, then."

I heard Angel's voice ringing in my head. _Is everybody okay? Roll call! Go!_

After Angel's message, I heard four voices respond in my head before I myself thought _Go_. Somehow, Angel had used her telepathic-ness to link up the six of us.

_Is everybody completely alone?_ I asked.

_Yeah,_ Angel said. _Six separate paths._

_Damn,_ I thought. _Well, keep us all linked up, Angel, and we'll try to find a place to hook back up._

_I can't, Max,_ Angel said apologetically. _It's taxing. I'm gonna have to let it drop real soon…_

_Well, we'll all hook back up, okay?_ I thought frantically. _How did this whole mirror thing happen, anyway?_

_Gwan must have warned them,_ Fang thought bitterly. _I offered him his life in exchange for keeping it quiet that we were coming… I guess Jewel gave him a sweeter deal._

_I have to cut off the connection, guys,_ Angel said quickly. _Sorry._

I lost all contact with them.

I was alone again. I didn't like the feeling. It was almost traumatic, the notion of being cut off from the entire flock again, this time without even Airy.

But I said to myself, "Self, once I get outta here, I _will_ see the flock again."

So I started marching. A single figure dropped in front of me. An absolutely beautiful Chinese woman, her hair cropped and decorated with two lotus blossoms.

"Hello, Max," she said. "My name is Liu Shey."

"Hi," I said cautiously. "Where is my flock?"

"They're around," Shey replied. "Each of them taken in a different direction to enjoy the psychological torment that fits them best."

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, for example, Nudge will be dealing with the Living Cell," the woman said cheerfully. "The logic is that all of you are claustrophobic, and the one of you who has the most difficulty containing their emotions is Nudge. Iggy? He has to listen to her freaking out."

"And what happens to me?" I said evenly.

"I don't really know," Shey said. "I only know I was sent to you."

She looked me up and down… mostly up. She was pretty tiny. Or, more accurately, I'm pretty gigantic. Six-foot-two.

"What is Fang's 'torment'?" I asked.

"Ah, yeah, Fang," Shey said. "Every little girl's fantasy."

She paced around me. "Don't know what possessed him to choose _you_," she murmured. "You're… plain. Plainest thing I've ever seen."

I laughed, starting to see where this was going. "You're dead wrong, Miss Shey. I happen to know I have nice hair and really pretty eyes. I've been told so."

"By who, a fortune cookie?" Shey sneered.

"Fang picked me because we're soul mates," I said. "You can stuff it. What kind of psychological torment is this?"

Shey touched her hands to my shoulders. "Only the knowledge of what Fang is up to," she whispered. "Fang is not being tormented. He's being… pleasured. By the special request of Dr. Brigid Dwyer, number-two gal in the whole kingdom."

"Pleasured?" I muttered.

"Dr. Dwyer will seduce him," Shey said. "They're going to make love, Max, and then Fang will be killed."

The notion disturbed me.

"Fang would never…" I muttered. "No, Fang would never fall for a trick like that."

"Why not?" Shey said. "He's been falling for 'em for three years."

I figured out immediately what was causing my doubts. They were pumping some stuff into the air in this hallway. That's what caused me to become concerned over my looks when Shey mentioned them, and then what made me believe her outrageous lies about Fang and Brigid. It was some sort of gas.

I know that sounds like I'm grasping at straws, but there _are_ some geniuses in the world. If they can graft avian DNA into humans and put a man on a soundstage that looks like the moon, a formula for "doubt-gas" isn't that much of a stretch. I could tell that I was inhaling something funky, and besides that, people, I knew when I wasn't acting like me.

So, I just held my breath. I could kick the shit out of this Shey bimbo without breathing. And so, long story short, I did.

After I left the place and began breathing again, I found all my doubts slipping away. What was I thinking? I'm a total babe, and if I wasn't it wouldn't matter. Am I right? I'm right.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

**Fang**

The hallway I had wound up in was lined with doors. I knew that searching every door would be a waste of time. I simply walked straight forward.

Then, one of the doors cracked open. A fiery-red head popped out.

"Hey, Fang," Brigid said.

"Brigid," I said. "What's happening here?"

"They wanted to torture you," she said. "I wouldn't let them. I'm a pretty influential gal, you know. I could probably convince them to let you live."

"That doesn't seem likely," I said, stepping forward. "What are we doing, then?"

Brigid opened the door wide. She was completely naked.

"Oh, boy," I said.

"Come in here, Fang," she said, gesturing to the room behind her. It was a very large room, with a hot tub and a big cushy bed. The back wall was glass, and on the other side of the wall was another hallway, this one with only one door. Mounted on another wall was a large marlin.

"All you need to do is have sex with me, and then everything will change. The human race will survive, the flock will survive, you will survive. But first you must bring me pleasure."

I smiled at her. "Well, how can I refuse?"

She nearly began drooling. "We're… we're doing this, then? Finally, after years of longing, I can have you?"

"Whatever you say, Brigid," I said quietly. I entered the room, scoping it out.

**All right, I hope I did the multiple-POV-chapter concept justice. All the lies-within-lies-within-lies were kind of tough to write! Can YOU figure it out? Now, onto the next multiple-POV-chapter chapter.**

**And by the way, I'D LIKE REVIEWS THAT MENTION MORE THAN JUST THE VERY LAST SENTENCE, YOU PUNKS. REVIEW THE WHOLE GODDAMN CHAPTER. Every event that sparked your imagination, every statement that got you smiling, every emotion that ran through your head at each individual juncture of the chapter. That's why they're called "reviews". "Hollee shit :o" is not a friggin' review. I'm gonna whip you guys into shape if it's the last thing I do.**

**Granted, I know most of you are incurable jackasses, which the "review every chapter" fiasco proved. But if you really care, please do put some effort into appreciating me. Just a little bit.**

**And by the way, the repetition of the word "chapter" up there was no accident. Just so we're clear.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

**Nudge**

It loomed over me… the Living Cell. It appeared as a stone block, forty feet long in every direction, with bars and windows, but it breathed, and it slowly crept down the corridor toward me.

Fang had told me the story. How he had gotten Brigid to tell her life story, which had resulted in the cell yawning so that he, Gazzy, and Angel could escape. I'd always thought of the Living Cell as a comedic entity… but seeing it in person, bearing down on me, it couldn't be further from the truth.

I was backed up against a wall. I heard the cell's ragged breathing.

"AAAAAAH… LEEEEEEE… AAAAAAH… LEHHHHH…"

It stopped moving, suddenly.

"Nudge?" said an unsteady voice. It was Iggy! I couldn't see him anywhere.

"Iggy?" I called.

The cell opened its windows. I could see Iggy on the other side of the corridor, roped to the opposite wall.

"Nudge, where are you?" Iggy yelled. "I hear the Living Cell… I hear it…"

"AAAAAAH… LAY-EEEEE…"

"It's right on top of me," I said. "But it's stopped moving, for some reason…"

"AAAAAAH… LAYYYY…"

"Nudge, I think it's trying to speak," Iggy said. "I… I think it's saying 'ally'!"

The body of the cell moved up and down. In affirmation! It was incredible. The cell was agreeing with him… the whole time, all it had been doing was asking for friendship.

"Damn!" said a voice. Lao Hu dropped from the ceiling, on Iggy's side of the cell. "Foolish rock," she sneered. "You'll find you don't want to disobey the orders of your queen!"

"You're telling it you're the queen now?" Iggy said. "That's just cruel."

Lao Hu spun to face him. "I _am_ the queen! I am Jewel's queen, his only love!"

"Jewel, in love?" Iggy said. "…Right."

"I am his love!" Lao Hu shrieked. "And you, cell, shall learn a measure of respect. Your calling in life is to us! You hold our prisoners. That's why you exist."

A deep rumbling noise rose from some part of the cell or another. I'm not really up on architecture-monster anatomy.

"You know, that sounds awfully boring," I said. "If that was my life, I think I'd want to change sides too."

Iggy laughed, and Lao Hu leered at me. "You foolish children shall die along with the cell," she snarled. "I will _not_ show mercy to any who doubt that I am Master Jewel's one true love."

I held up my fists. "Bring it!"

The Living Cell growled in agreement.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

**Max**

I burst from a hall, free of the doubt-gas. (Look, I don't know exactly what the effects of the damn stuff were, only that it made me doubt shit. Get off my freaking back.) When I came out of the door, I beheld a hallway with high ceilings and one glass wall. On the other side of this wall, there was an enormous bedroom. Brigid was sprawled across the bed, completely buff. And Fang was in the room, too.

"No!" I shrieked.

Fang turned to me. He was removing something from the wall. Looked like a marlin.

"It's okay, Max," he said, raising his voice slightly so I could hear him through the glass. "See me, waaaay over here, not participating?"

"Why is she naked?" I said suspiciously.

"Trying to lure me into the room," he replied. He shook his head. "Poor soul, honestly."

"Why are you _in_ that room?" I demanded.

"Well, I figured maybe there was a secret panel behind the marlin," he said. He reached in and pulled out a couple of guns. "I'm pretty good at this game, aren't I?"

"Great," I said. "So, how can you get through to me?"

"The glass is unbreakable," Brigid said abruptly. "The force field is generated by my heartbeat. You'd have to kill me to break through."

I smirked at her. "And you really think he won't do it, huh?"

"I'm not going to kill her, Max," Fang said.

"What?!"

"Max," he said gently. "Look, you may think of her as a romantic rival, but, putting it bluntly, you need to stop being so silly! I never had _feelings_ for Brigid."

"You thought she was pretty cool, though," I muttered.

Brigid moaned suddenly. I turned to her, saw her rubbing herself, and immediately looked away from the grotesque sight.

"Come on, Fang," she whined. "Come love me… come love me…"

He ignored her utterly, which made me feel awful proud of him.

"She's out of her mind, Max," Fang said. "Maybe if we take her back to our base, we can try to make her better."

"She hasn't been like this for very long, though, right?" I said. "She's been a villain for a while. She was working for Mr. Chu, then switched to Jewel because he was scarier. She's a coward and a sell-out."

"Character flaws," Fang said. "People can change. We can help her become a better person."

"Fang, why do you _care_?" I demanded. "Just knock her out and be done with it."

"I won't do that, Max!" he said. "Brigid has a place in my heart. I want her to get better. Please, Max. I think we should take her back home with us. I really, really care about her. Please."

I saw the sincerity in his eyes. I nodded slowly. "Okay," I said. "Okay, Fang. Go ahead."

Fang gently knocked Brigid unconscious and wrapped her up in a blanket before hoisting her over his shoulder. "All right, Max," he said. "I'm coming out."

"What about the force field?" I said.

"Brigid was bluffing," he replied. "She does that a lot, to no avail. Part of her insanity."

He kicked the glass wall and slipped through the hole he had made. Just for the hell of it, I planted a kiss on him, which caused him to smile.

"Found any clues as to the rest of the flock?" Fang asked.

"Well, I heard that Nudge will be dealing with the Living Cell while Iggy has to listen," I said. "What is a 'Living Cell'? Shey didn't make that clear."

Fang winced. "I hate Shey. She's tried to seduce me too."

"You attract bad girls. It's a known fact."

He shrugged. "Sure. Shey is nasty, though… she loves pain. Other people's, that is. Evil bitch, really, and thinks that the world should be hers because she's beautiful. And that's not a hyperbole, she actually thinks that beauty is an important character trait."

"That's the impression I got," I said. "But what is the Living Cell?"

"A creature," Fang said. "I don't know who made it, but it's a creature. It holds people inside of it so they can't escape… you know, it's pretty much impossible to describe. You'll have to wait until you meet it."

"Meet? That's a pretty mild term."

Fang grinned. "The Living Cell has been regretting its very existence for quite a while now. Angel says that it's begun to wish it could join me. It won't hurt Nudge."

Suddenly, all the walls surrounding us became transparent. Just like the wall that Fang had kicked through, every wall in the building became clear glass. High above, I could see Iggy and Nudge communing with a pulsating black cube that I took to be the Living Cell. In a further corner, Angel and Gazzy waved to me.

I also saw Jewel, and his one hundred selected people. The flock tried to unite, but the halls were a twisted maze. Even transparent, it would be nearly impossible to find our way through… before Jewel found us.

But we were quickly scooped up by odd machines that appeared out of nowhere. Fang and myself, along with the swaddled Brigid, were pulled down a tube, deep underground. It deposited us into a square, brightly-lit room. The rest of the flock followed.

"This is an incredible set-up he's got here," Fang said. "I almost admire it."

"Almost," Iggy confirmed. "If he wasn't evil and all."

Other people were dropped into the room by tubes. Keegan, Niles, the group I'd heard referred to as "The Five": Lao Hu, Huzi, Lang, Shey, and Gwan. The last two I'd met, and from their example I wasn't too keen on meeting the others.

Finally, Jewel dropped in, at the exact center of the room. A force I couldn't identify pushed me toward him, and a ruby-red force field surrounded us. The force field expanded, filling most of the square room, but with walkways all around for all the other people in the room to observe us.

"You and me, Max," Jewel said. "Single combat."

"Not fair," I said quietly, looking at his blades.

"It's fair," Jewel said. "And it's the only way this thing will be settled. Come now, a simple trial of strength."

He clasped his hands around mine. My hands broke almost instantly, but I kept my footing as he pushed and pushed.

I knew I could only hold out for so long. Soon, all of that pushing would kill me.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

**Fang**

My eyes widened in horror as Jewel pressed against Max's arms tightly. If she didn't pass out from the pain soon, she would be pressed against the wall of the force field and crushed. It was unbearable.

I turned to see who was next to me. A very thin girl with shiny black hair and thick glasses.

"Keegan," I growled. "Keegan, help her!"

She turned to me, her face looking as anguished as I felt. I didn't believe her face, though.

"Fang, you know why I can't do that," she said.

"Do I really?" I sneered, grabbing her by the throat. My hand burned, and Keegan vanished and reappeared a few feet away.

I looked at my blistered hand. Note to self: don't threaten omnipotent people.

I stepped back toward Keegan. "I mean it, kid," I said. "You save Max, and you save Max right now!"

"That's not what I'm for!" Keegan said desperately.

"Well, what are you 'for', then?" I fumed. "What is the point of having powers, if you can't even save the world?"

Keegan cowered under my glare. "Fang, please…"

"Do it, Keegan."

That wasn't me who said that. It was Niles, leaning against the wall and looking at Keegan with seething eyes.

"Save Max, Keegan," Niles said. "Immediately."

Keegan turned back to the grappling forms of Max and Jewel. "Niles…"

"Keegan, I'm not in love with a person who sits by idly and does nothing," Niles said. "I didn't think I was, anyway."

"But… you can't fall out of love with me!" Keegan said. "It's impossible, isn't it?"

"And whose fault is that?" Niles said bitterly. "Whose fault is it that I'm bound to love you forever?"

"It was your idea!" Keegan said shrilly.

"And it was the worst idea I've ever had," Niles said simply. "I love you, Keegan. I love you very, very much. Why? Because you altered me. You changed me into someone who was capable of love." He also turned to the fight. "Funny that you're willing to alter me so utterly, and yet you can't even spare Max a bit of strength."

"Niles, it's more complicated than—"

"It's not," Niles said. "It's simple. You can change things, or not change things. You already changed me, so change the outcome of this battle. And if you won't do that, then un-change me… remove this curse you put on me."

Keegan bit her lip, and her eyes welled up. "Niles… loving me is a curse?" she choked.

"Yeah," he said. "Because you're a useless person who has nothing to offer. Not in the world, not in a relationship."

Keegan's face contorted with sorrow.

"If you let Max die, then I deserve someone better," Niles said. "Free me, Keegan. Either free me or help Max."

Keegan took a deep breath, then looked at Max and Jewel. Quite suddenly, the force field that Max was pressed against vanished, and Max gave a mighty push that sent Jewel skidding across the floor.

Everyone jumped into action instantly. Gazzy spilled a can of something onto the floor; the instant Jewel's ruby-studded feet slid over it, he stuck fast.

"What the hell?" Jewel demanded.

Gazzy pressed his hand against Jewel's back, then flew around and farted in his face.

"Come on, everybody," he said. "We're gonna wanna get out of here before Jewel explodes."

"Explodes?" Jewel demanded. "What did you just clip to my back?"

"Just a little bomb," Gazzy said innocently. "Little, but with big boom!"

Jewel reached his arms back over his shoulders, but couldn't reach the spot where the bomb had been clipped, directly beneath his shoulder-like area. No matter how hard he tried with all four arms, that part of his back was unreachable. Finally he turned to stare at Gazzy.

"You can't do that," he pouted.

And he exploded.

I winced, preparing for the fireball to reach me, but it never did. I found myself in a gorgeous pine forest, surrounded only by good guys. The rest of the flock, the blanket-wrapped Brigid, the Living Cell, and Keegan and Niles.

"See?" Keegan said harshly. "I did it. I did it! I saved them!"

"Yeah, you did," Niles said. "You did a good job."

Keegan's tears flowed freely. "Niles, I love you."

He hugged her. "I love you too, Keegan, and I've never regretted that. I just needed you to get some perspective."

"I know," Keegan said. "It was for my own good. I totally get that."

"What exactly happened here?" Max muttered. "Did… did someone save me?"

"I did, Max," Keegan said.

Max looked up at her friend. "Oh, Keegan," she said. "I'm so sorry I got you upset like that the other day… I hate seeing you cry."

"It's okay, Max," Keegan said. "I deserved it. I needed the wake-up call." She approached Max. "Are we friends again?"

"Best friends," Max said. "Forever."

The two of them entwined their pinkies. For a second, my Max looked very… well, girlish.

Niles came up to me. "Hey, dude," he said.

"Hey," I said.

He looked at Max and Keegan's reunion.

"You wanna double?" he asked.

"You know, that would be really awesome," I said sincerely.

Keegan looked at me slyly. "How about the twenty-seventh?" she said. She pulled Max's hair up. The back of her neck was clear.

"I… I'm not going to expire?" Max said excitedly.

"None of you are," Keegan said. "But all the same… you'll all find now that you know exactly when your eighteenth birthdays are."

"Oh!" Nudge said. "Oh, my…"

"And you're all in excellent health," Keegan added. "No broken bones, no more bruises…"

"Don't cheat, Keegan," Max cautioned. "We'd still like to find our destiny the normal way, you know."

Keegan nodded. "If you ever need me, call, and I'll be by your side instantly."

"Yeah," Max said. "But… you'll be our last resort."

"I'd never take away your free will," Keegan said, nodding. "Goodbye, everyone."

Keegan took Niles' hand and the two of them vanished in a sparkle.

I kissed Max tenderly. "Love you, babe," I said. "Everything is kind of right, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Max agreed. She looked around. "We appear to be in a forest of some kind. Anybody know why?"

"No," I admitted. "But you know what? I think Keegan knew what she was doing when she put us here."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

**Third Person**

Lao Hu crawled through the wreckage. She saw a red glimmer and moved towards it.

"Jewel, my love," she whispered.

He was barely damaged. Some of the gems that studded him were chipped slightly, but he was almost entirely intact.

"Hi, Lao Hu," he replied.

Jewel sat up, wrapping his arms around his legs.

"I don't know what I'm doing anymore, Lao Hu," he murmured. He sifted through the ashes at his feet. Among them were bodies. "Gwan… there's a guy who never deserved anything more than death. Huzi… well, he never would have been happy anyway. Shey…"

"I'm alive," Shey coughed.

"Great," Jewel said. "Hmm… Lao Hu, come on."

Lao Hu followed him away from the destruction.

"What's on your mind, my sweetheart?" Lao Hu asked.

"We can't rebuild again," Jewel said. "It took too long last time. I don't know if my heart would be in it anymore, so to speak. What'll I ever do?" He wrapped an arm around her. "All that I really have is a guarantee that you'll be Mrs. Jewel."

"That's valuable, though, isn't it?" she said, resting her head on his marble shoulder.

"Yeah," Jewel said. "But what will become of everything I ever worked for."

"You could join the Survivors," an unidentifiable voice rasped.

Jewel spun. There was a figure he knew, the apparition of the leader of the Survivors.

"It's not too late," the person hissed. "You have threatened me, but the Survivors see the value in those you have chosen as followers… particularly you, Lao Hu Cho."

"It's Cho Lao Hu. I'm Chinese."

"Yes, of course," the leader said. "Join with us, Jewel. Our data shows that Shey and Lang have survived. Three powerful people, along with you, Jewel, are certainly a worthy addition to our just and noble cause…"

Jewel shrugged one shoulder. "I'm sold," he said. "Where do I sign up?"

**To be continued in the fourth installment…**

**Well, this is the longest chapter of this series to date… so, again, review every small bit, not just the closing statement. Anyway, as my computer access is becoming more and more limited, the fourth installment may be a while in coming. But don't worry: there _will_ be a fourth installment, sure as my name is Benjamin Franklin. Oh, wait, that's not my name. But I will, eventually, someday, post the fourth part of the series. I swear.**

**But for now, just post lots of very articulate and life-affirming reviews for this segment. I'll see you all later.**


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